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The first thing Chelsea noticed was the fact that the TV was still on. Normally the chipmunk found her apartment completely silent when she came home after a late night at work. Her roommate Lori rarely stayed up late unless it was the weekend. The ferret preferred to keep to a more structured sleep schedule than Chelsea and thanks to her job as apprentice baker she was afforded that luxury. As Chelsea worked her way through the front entrance, exhaustion tugging at her shoulders, she turned to look into the living room and groaned at the mess that was laid out in front of her.

The living room was a mess of take out boxes and plastic bags. Upturned lids dripping sauce onto the carpet littered the floor around the couch along with several half eaten chip bags. There we pizza boxes piled up on the coffee table that were untouched save for one slice missing from each pie. Several ice cream containers were set out as well. The smell of melting chocolate and cherry cheesecake flavors filled the apartment. There was enough food to feed both herself and Lori several times over. It looked like the set from some terrible comedy where the parents had come home to find their apartment a complete mess and the guilty child caught red handed. Except Chelsea didn't like to think of herself as the parent to Lori's child. The ferret was usually never this messy unless it was in the kitchen and then at least Chelsea got to sample the fruits of her labors.

The thought of something freshly baked caused Chelsea's bushy tail to quiver and she made her way over to the kitchen only to immediately wish she hadn't. The kitchen was almost as bad as the living room. Bowls and cookie sheets covered every available surface. Empty packages of shortening and butter had been piled up on top of the garbage can as though whoever did it understood the idea but the actual implementation of tossing out waste. There were measuring cups half full of some kind of batter, muffin cups that had been pulled off muffins that were nowhere to be found, bags of chocolate chips scattered across the floor like tacks and a seemingly endless array of spoons, forks and wash clothes. It was worse than the living room.

The guilty party was strewn out on the couch, completely passed out with a notebook sitting on her chest. Her slender frame covered by a pair of sweat pants and a yellow t-shirt that was covered in crumbs and pizza sauce. Chelsea looked from the snoring figure up to the TV which was switched to the Food Network. The show on screen was talking about the best way to make use of mushrooms in a pasta dish. Chelsea felt her stomach rumble at the sight of freshly made food. Another late night with no dinner, coupled with her own exhaustion, made her give up on the idea of just waking Lori up and asking what happened. She thought about trying to clean up but the idea died as quickly as it appeared. There was no way she was going to be tackling this kind of mess without at least some sleep under her belt. The only energy the pudgy chipmunk could muster was to grab hold of one of the pizza boxes that lay beside the couch and carry it off with her to bed, stuffing a slice between her cheeks along the way.

The next morning Chelsea awoke with a groan. A night of only five hours sleep and an entire pizza in the belly was a terrible mix. Like a bear coming out of hibernation Chelsea slowly dragged herself upright and sat at the edge of the bed. She slouched for a few moments, trying to will some semblance of energy into her limbs so she could get up and face the day. The only energy she could manage was devoured by a large yawn that almost popped off the top of her head. After a scratch at her side she managed to hoist herself upright and staggered out of her room and down the hallway.

Her zombie like state was met by a kitchen completely transformed from the disaster area it had been the night before. Gone was the mess that Chelsea had been sure would take all day to clean. She peeked around the doorway and noticed the living room was spotless as well.

“Good morning!” Lori called from in front of the stove. She turned and gave a wink to Chelsea before going back to her current project on the stove. Chelsea gave a tired wave that turned into an attempt to stifle another yawn before collapsing into a chair at the kitchen table. “sleep well?”

“Mmmh.” Chelsea grunted in reply as she slouched into her seat. The very idea of having to work that day was enough to make her want to crawl under the kitchen table.

“Sorry about the mess last night,” Lori went on, oblivious to her roommates lethargic state.

“Mph,” Chelsea replied.

“I just had a few friends over last night and I lost track of time.”

Chelsea tried to arrange her thoughts into something other than a jumbled mess and opened her mouth to question who Lori had over the night before but was stopped by a plate of scrambled eggs and toast set in front of her along with a cup of coffee. The scent of fresh breakfast made the chipmunks stomach growl and drew her mind out of its sleep deprived stupor.

“Thanks,” Chelsea said as she dug into the food. “Why didn't you tell me that you were having friends over?”

“Oh, well,” Lori replied from the kitchen sink. “I..It was a spur of the moment kind of thing. I wanted to get some ideas from a cooking show and a few friends happened to be at work and so we all just sort of came back here. Don't worry though, I won't do it again.”

Had Chelsea been a bit more awake she might have caught the strange tone in the ferrets voice. As it was she simple pushed more food into her plump cheeks.

“Mph I'm not complaining Lori. Besides, if having breakfast made for me is all that comes from you haven't a late night then I'm all for it.”

That seemed to be the end of it for the moment. Lori let Chelsea finish up her breakfast and coffee before heading into the bathroom and get ready to face another day of work. This left Lori time to clean up the remnants of breakfast and get ready herself.

The story of how the pair had become roommates wasn't nearly as amazing as some had suspected. One might think that some sort of strange circumstance must have come about to cause two such different personalities to come together as they had. Lori, a ferret, was naturally inclined to be filled with energy and could never stay in one place for very long. Meanwhile Chelsea, who spent most of her time working long hours in an office, never had much energy left over for anything other than recovering for her next late night. This usually meant that Lori was the chipper and bright one while Chelsea preferred to conserve her energy for when she really needed it.

The reality of the situation that brought the pair together was rather simple. Chelsea's apartment had an extra room and Lori needed a place to stay. Lori, as a baker's apprentice, brought in free snacks in the form of day old treats and samples of new experimental treats from work. Chelsea brought a steady source of income and was always happy to overlook any lateness of rent payments on Lori's part so long as she was still given the treats that she so sorely desired. The result had been a happy arrangement that left Lori with a place to stay and Chelsea more snacks and treats than she knew what to do with.

Of course, some would argue that the influx of so many treats and snack foods was having an adverse affect on Chelsea's figure. She had always had a larger figure than most other chipmunks and the free samples that flooded her home had only furthered that fact. Chelsea had watched (with some guilty pleasure) as her body steadily expanded and softened from her friends constant cooking and experimenting. A plush layer of flab covered Chelsea's already well padded frame. The excess of cakes and cinnamon rolls had expanded her backside and thighs. Giving her a pair of rump cheeks that filled out her office chair at work and strained the skirts she was constantly tugging down over those wide hips. Her stomach had softened and swelled into a mound that rested softly on her thighs in two soft, squeezable folds. She was thankful that her bushy tail covered up the majority of her backside but the desire to raise it up and show off her expanded rear tugged playfully at her mind.

Plus sizes filled Chelsea's closet and she was constantly aware of her increasing girth whenever she caught herself in the mirror. It didn't help mattes when Lori had found Chelsea to be the perfect guinea pig for most of her creations. The chipmunk was perfectly candid when it came to what worked and what didn't. Lori knew she had a winner on her hands when Chelsea had nothing to complain about when sampling a new treat fresh from the oven.

So it was that morning, like so many other mornings, that Lori had woken up early to prepare a breakfast for her friend before heading off to work herself. The pair usually only spent time together in the evenings since Lori tended to rush out of the house early in order to get to work with time to spare. The fact that she was up that morning might have been another cause for curiosity on Chelsea's part but a home cooked breakfast and a plausible explanation was enough to get her mind to focus on other things.

That curiosity might have grown however, had Chelsea looked in the fridge to find most of the food from the night before sitting completely untouched. If she'd left anything on her plate (a frankly ludicrous idea from Chelsea's point of view) she might have noticed the garbage had been filled with full tubs of melted ice cream along with a dozen ice cream bars that had melted over night. So much wasted food that looked to be enough to serve a group of friends planning to enjoy an evening together.

All of that evidence was lost to Chelsea though as she quickly realized she'd overslept and was forced to rush off to work as quickly as she could without bothering to grab anything for lunch which meant another day eating out. The thoughts of her friends late night gone in the rush of Chelsea's day to day life.

Gone, but not completely forgotten.

That same evening, after another long day, Chelsea came home to find the apartment smelling of Chinese take out. Another late night at work meant was home a full three hours past her usual dinner time and her stomach rumbled at the scent that touched her nostrils. She had sent a text that she might be home late and if Lori might need anything on her way home. There were several times Chelsea had gotten home only to see her roommate rush past her on the way to the grocery store to pick up some ingredient she needed for her baking. She made her way through the front entrance, tossing her jacket and briefcase into a corner by the hall closet, and followed the scent into the living room.

Once again Chelsea was greeted with the sight of a feast in mid swing. Boxes of Chinese take out lay scattered out on the coffee table in front of the couch. A pile of bags and napkins filled the spaced between table and couch. The couch was filled with Lori who looked up from the box of noodles she was shoveling into her snout.

“Oh,hmmph hey!' Lori said, trying desperately to not look like a cat that had been caught in the goldfish bowl. “You're home early.”

“Yeah, I sent you a text that I was heading home.” Chelsea replied. “Didn't you get it?”

“Yes...” Lori said, her eyes frantically searching around the room while Chelsea grabbed for a box of food and plopped herself down on her side of the couch, “That's why I ordered out!” Lori squeaked with a bit more force than she'd intended. “I figured you'd be hungry and so I ordered us some take out.”

“Well I don't know what you think about my appetite,” Chelsea said through a muzzle full of fried rice. “But you've got enough food here to feed us both twice over.”

“Yeah, heh, I guess I'm not that great at judging how much to order.” Lori answered quickly.

“Oh I'm the same way. Everything sounds on the menu but then not enough when you actually order it. I guess that's why there's always leftovers huh?”

“That must be it.” Lori said with a sigh of relief.

“So what are we watching tonight?” Chelsea asked, “More cooking shows?”

Lori looked up from her food to the TV which was showing a heavy set bovine chef explaining the finer points of a Thanksgiving dinner. The ferret quickly slid the note book resting on her lap in between the cushions of the couch and handed Chelsea the remote.

“Oh I was just watching in case they were going to mention anything about pies. I had an idea about trying out a recipe that uses more lard in the crust.”

“Lard?” Chelsea made a face, “Why would you put lard in a crust?”

“Well what do you think butter is?” Lori replied, happy to see her friend had accepted the story she was given. “But I don't think I will, lard makes a crust that tastes like sand.”

The conversation veered off wildly after that. Moving from customers Lori had dealt with that day to the usual complaints Chelsea had about the long days and co-workers that caused them. All the while the the pair of them chipping away at the mountain of food Lori had ordered. Chelsea ate more than her fair share but it still wasn't enough to completely finish it all and Lori had given up after eating more than Chelsea had ever seen the ferret eat. There was never any sort of competition between the pair of them but Chelsea could have sworn that Lori was trying to match her mouthful for mouthful. Which meant that when Chelsea finally called it for the night Lori was left cradling a packed stomach and moaning about never wanting to see another egg roll for the rest of her life. There would be plenty of left over's the next day to replace the pizzas that Lori had given away at her work.

It was a week later when Chelsea finally discovered the reason for the strange eating habits that had suddenly taken control of her roommates life. It might have taken less time for Chelsea to notice the change but the abundance of food in the house that she had to neither pay for nor prepare was too good to be true. As someone who was used to eating quickly and whenever she could, Chelsea wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. However, she couldn't ignore the changes that were coming over Lori. Normally, the ferret was chipper and bright in the mornings but as the week progressed Chelsea noticed that normally energetic attitude was eroding away with a grumpier version of the ferret she knew. The mornings, even when Chelsea had the extra time to actually enjoy a proper breakfast, were noted with Lori having a harder and harder time to get herself going. She was looking more disheveled with each passing day. Her bright red hair, usually so well combed and ordered, was a tangled mess when she finally appeared in the kitchen.

Chelsea was usually jealous of how quickly Lori could get going in the morning and was realizing that the attitude towards getting up early which she held was showing up more and more frequently on Lori's face when she sat down at the breakfast table. This attitude would always disappear by the end of the day however. When Chelsea arrived home Lori would be just as chipper as she always was. The events of the morning no longer showing on her friends face. But the fridge was still packed with leftovers and there was always an excuse or explanation Lori had prepared for Chelsea when she asked.

Finally, after a week of odd behavior and strange binges, Chelsea was finally given an explanation. It was another early morning and Chelsea had pulled herself out of bed and off to the bathroom when she heard murmuring coming from Lori's room. Normally Chelsea would never dream of eavesdropping on her friend and roommate. The idea of invading someone's privacy was the furthest thing on her mind. Still though, the door to Lori's room was opened halfway and Chelsea was sure she could hear angry grumblings coming from the ferrets room.

With as much stealth as an overweight chipmunk just waking up could muster, Chelsea crept over to the door and looked inside. Lori was standing in front of her mirror, tape measure in hand with a look of disappointment on her face. Lori couldn't have contrasted Chelsea more when it came to their physical attributes. While Chelsea wore her extra weight as evidence of a sedentary lifestyle. Lori was the picture of fitness. Her body didn't seem to posses a single ounce of extra fat. Anyone else might have been jealous of the figure that Lori maintained seemingly without effort. The added information that Lori was a baker might have sent that person into a jealous rage but Chelsea didn't see it that way. She enjoyed her size. The feeling of getting rounder and softer filled the chipmunk with a pleasure that was hard to describe and she wasn't about to go trading her figure away for anything.

She wasn't exactly sure what possessed her to speak up at that moment. It may have been that she had been picking up on her friends sudden change in behavior and finally found a chance to learn something about it. Whatever it was was Chelsea found herself stepping into the doorway and placing her paws on her hips.

“Worried about your figure Lori?” She asked, causing Lori to almost jump out of her skin.

“Oh! Chelsea!” Lori gasped, paw on her chest. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Chelsea replied. “I just saw you and couldn't help myself. But it's true you know.”

“What's true?” Lori asked, tossing the measuring tape aside.

“That if you keep eating like you've been doing you'll end up like me.”

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

“You know.” Chelsea replied, giving her own stomach a pat.

“Oh right.” Lori said, looking back at the mirror and then down at her stomach. “Imagine me with a belly. Heh, soft thighs that press together.”

Chelsea watched as Lori turned and stuck her stomach out at the mirror. “A nice belly that jiggles just a bit, filling out my uniform. Having to wear stretchier pants because I've outgrown everything else...Terrible...Just terrible.” Lori paused in her musings long enough to catch Chelsea's expression in the mirror. “But crazy. I really do need to cut back don't I?”

“Lori,” Chelsea said as she looked at her friend. “Is there something you want to tell me?” “No, course not,” Lori replied with the panicked movements of an animal caught in a trap. “Why would I want to tell you anything?”

“You can always talk to me if you've got something on your mind.” Chelsea said as she took a step into the bedroom.

“Well that's nice of you but I don't have anything on my mind,” Lori answered with a nervous chuckle. “Nothing at all.”

“This doesn't have anything to do with all the extra food I've been finding around the place does it?”

“Extra food?” Lori repeated before giving the window a quick glance as though debating how much damage a three story fall would do to her. “What extra food?”

“Well the pizzas, the Chinese food, the Thai, the sandwiches from that gourmet panini cafe down the street. The ice cream tubs I keep finding around the place.”

Lori gave another look around the room before finally letting her shoulders sag. There was no point trying to hide it anymore. “Alright fine. I'll tell you.”

Chelsea made her way into the kitchen to give Lori a chance to change. After a few minutes Lori entered into the kitchen dressed and still clutching the measuring tape in her paws.

“So,” Chelsea said, pushing the chair opposite her at the kitchen table out with her foot. “What's this all about?”

“Well,” Lori said, still fiddling with the tape. “It's kind of hard to explain.”

“Why don't you start from the beginning then?” Chelsea suggested.

“Alright then I'll say it simply. I want to gain weight.,” Lori said. The worlds seemed to hang in the air between them while Chelsea processed this information. “You think I'm weird don't you?”

“What? No! Of course not!” Chelsea replied quickly. “There's nothing weird about it. Well, I mean it's an odd thing for someone to want when they aren't weight training or something. But you're not in any kind of danger or anything are you?” The idea of Lori being anorexic had never occurred to Chelsea before. Lori always seemed to be full of energy and the picture of health.

“No of course I'm not anorexic. It's nothing to do with some sort of psychological problem. I just want to do it for work.”

“You want to gain weight for work?” Chelsea repeated. “I think you need to have a serious talk to your boss about what they can and can't order you to do.”

“No it isn't something my boss asked me to do Chelsea. Don't be silly. It's something I want to do to help with work.”

Again Chelsea tried to understand what was Lori meant. She'd be the first to admit that she didn't have the same culinary skills as Lori. Truth be told Lori was in a class all her own. The idea of her even being an apprentice baker was laughable. But why her weight would have anything to do with her job was beyond her.

“Okay, let me try to explain,” Lori said, noting the confused expression her friends face. “What's the one thing you notice about all the famous bakers and chefs?”

“They cook really well?” Chelsea hazarded.

“Well that's a given. I mean what do you notice about them in general? Like physically?”

“Lori I don't know what you're talking about!”Chelsea wailed. “What do you mean? They're all male or something? I don't see how gaining weight would help in that regard.”

“Chelsea stop being silly,” Lori said, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms.

“I'm sorry Lori,” Chelsea replied, rubbing her paws into her eyes. “I'm just tired and I don't understand. Can't you just tell me? I thought you were going to lay it out not play twenty questions.”

“Oh fine,” Lori shouted. “They're all either overweight and fat and I want to be like them as well! I figure gaining a bit of weight might help me out with work.”

“I don't und-” Chelsea started but stopped when she saw the look on Lori's snout.

“I know it's hard to understand but believe me there's a certain look people expect when they visit a baker. They want to be served by someone that looks like they know what they're doing.”

“But Lori you do know what you're doing,” Chelsea said. “You can bake circles around anyone else. Or should I say doughnuts?” Chelsea grinned sheepishly.

“Terrible jokes aside,” Lori huffed. “Prospective customers don't see it that way. They see my boss and they see someone that knows a thing or about baking. They look at me and what do they see?”

Chelsea squirmed in her seat as another question was fired at her. “Not that?”

“Pretty much. Do you know how many times I've been asked if there was a baker around to get a professional opinion about a wedding cake? The amount of people that have asked me, this week alone, if I 'knew anything about the stuff in the case', is high enough to make me contemplate doing something terrible with a pastry bag!”

Lori slumped down in her chair, her energy spent. This rant had apparently been building up for quite some time. Chelsea was genuinely concerned. Her friend and roommate had always been bubbly and an incurable optimist. It seemed like nothing could bring her down. It was startling to see Lori brought so low.

“And you think that gaining weight is going to solve all this?” Chelsea asked.

“It has to. I'm sure of it. You know the old adage 'never trust a skinny cook'? Well most people seem to take it to heart. Now don't get me wrong, I don't plan on getting huge or anything. I just want a little bit of extra padding.” Lori stood up then and gestured to her stomach and hips. “Maybe a little softness around the middle. The sign of someone that's tasted a lot of cakes and is no stranger to how to ice a cupcake.”

“So that's why you've been buying so much food and trying to stuff yourself so often.” Chelsea stated. “You've been trying to fatten up?”

Lori blushed. “Well, I wouldn't exactly call it...that.”

“What? 'Fattening up'? What would you call it then?”

“Erm...” Lori fumbled for her words, unable to look her friend in the face. “Training?”

“Right..” It was Chelsea's turn to cross her arms now. It was rare for her to catch Lori off balance and she was finding it hard not to toy with her. Besides which, Chelsea was no stranger to the pull of the enjoyment and allure of gaining weight. She saw the same bashfulness and curiosity in her friends face that had first crossed Chelsea's muzzle when she squeezed her first belly for the first time since working to swell herself. “Well, if you're going to be doing some training for work then I guess I better help you.”

“Help me?” Lori gasped, not sure she heard Chelsea correctly.

“Of course. It's clear you don't know what you're doing.”

“What do you mean? It's gaining weight. You just eat badly. It's not rocket science.”

“Yeah sure,” Chelsea said, rolling her eyes. “You can gain weight that way. But it's also a great way to die of a coronary by age forty five. You have to know what you're doing.”

incomprehension passed across Lori's face as she sat back down at the table. “What am I doing wrong? Oh wait!” Before Chelsea could reply the ferret disappeared from the kitchen and returned, notebook and pen in paw, ready to take notes.

“Well, you just can't stuff yourself endlessly. You'll just make yourself sick. Gaining weight takes time and if you eat nothing but crap you'll start to feel like crap.” Chelsea noted Lori's face as she spoke. It was clear the ferret had noticed the change in her own personality.

“Anyway, you'll only be able to gain weight like that if you're used to eating like that. You just can't go from a healthy diet to a terrible one in seconds flat. Proper weight gain comes from the right kind of diet.”

“So it's like a healthy diet but in reverse?” Lori asked, looking up from her notes.

“Exactly.” Chelsea said. “It's no use ordering massive amounts of food if you can only stomach a few slices of pizza or a single bowl of ice cream. You only end up with leftovers that you're poor roommate has to work through.”

“Alright I get it. No more binges.”

“At least not of that size. How did you think you were going to finish three extra large pizza's in one night?”

“Never mind that. It's in the past. But now I can learn from the master. This is perfect!” Lori said with a squeal of glee. Her energy levels seemed to be perking up from the information Chelsea was giving her. But even as Chelsea spoke, the chipmunk had her worries. Was this really a good idea? Chelsea had already given herself over to a well padded lifestyle and the pitfalls that it entailed. Was it really a smart idea to give her friend tips on how to do the same? How ethical was it to help her friend obliterate her own metabolism in the hopes of achieving some body type that she thought would help her career? And what did she mean by 'master' anyway?

“Lori is a smart girl,” Chelsea reasoned, “She knows how to take care of herself. I'll just be guiding her paw along this path. She'll stop when she's had enough. Only,” She looked down at her own soft belly. “That's what I thought wasn't it?”

“This is so great!” Lori said, “More, I need more! Tell me everything you know and I'll be busting buttons in no time.”

“Let's not get to into it right now,” Chelsea said as she looked at the kitchen clock. “I've gotta get ready for work.”

“Right.” Lori replied. She jumped from her seat and ran back into her room. Already she was thinking of the sizes and types of clothe she'd need to buy to replace her soon to be too small wardrobe. “I'll get to order a new chef's jacket too! I can't wait!”

“We'll have to do something about all that energy as well.” Chelsea muttered as she made her way back to the bathroom to get ready for work.

By the time lunch rolled around Lori was beside herself with excitement. Chelsea had promised to give her a few suggestions for where to go for lunch. Lori had hoped the chipmunk would have been able to come along with her but the time she'd spent in the morning helping Lori to figure out what exactly she was trying to do meant that she'd have to work through her lunch. This left Lori with only the advice that Chelsea had given her.

“Just keep snacking,” Chelsea said as she rushed out the door. “And don't walk to work. Take the bus.”

Normally, any other fur would have found the information that was given to them about gaining weight to be obvious. Simply reducing energy output and increasing caloric intake would have been a simple change to make but Lori was different. Beyond being a ferret and so blessed with a boundless energy. Lori was given to a bubbly personality and was, by and large, a morning person. There was never a moment where she wasn't on the move or working on something. Her focus always on a new task or job that she was eager to finish. Learning to undo all of those traits which she was known for would be difficult. But Lori merely looked at it as a way to increase job performance. It was a challenge to be overcome and she wasn't about to give up.

And so Lori took the bus when work was only a few miles away. She spent her morning watching the world go by rather than getting to enjoy her usual walk along her familiar path. She arrived at work in such good time she was given a few minutes before her shift to think about what Chelsea had told her.

The crux of gaining weight, as Chelsea explained. Wasn't just about binges and eating in massive quantities. Granted, that was part of it, but there was far more to it than that. If Lori wanted to see any kind of gain it would be through a complete overhaul of her current diet.

“Weight gain creeps up on you you,” Chelsea had texted Lori while the ferret waited for her shift to start. “You don't even think that it's happening until one day your pants don't fit.”

Lori admitted that it made sense. Certainly it made more sense than just trying to stuff herself like a Thanksgiving turkey anyway. Come to think of it, she did always see Chelsea snacking and nibbling. Not to mention she was forever eating the treats and confections that Lori brought home for her. Perhaps she'd have to start taking home less?

“Well,” Lori thought as she stood in the middle of the bakeries empty kitchen. “I might as well get started.”

Lori hadn't had much in the way of breakfast that morning. Usually she was content with an apple or some other type of fruit which would carry her through to her break. This time however, she was going to take Chelsea's advice to heart.

The kitchen had been prepped earlier that morning and so there was no shortage of breakfast treats that would be sold in the display case which catered to anyone heading in on their way to work. There were chocolate croissants, muffins of various sorts and of course doughnuts and other sugary sweets. The kind of stuff that would give someone the energy to get through the day. So long as they kept eating them and didn't mind the extra calories.

Lori peered through the display case, trying to find the more appealing morsel she could before finally settling on a large chocolate croissant. The croissants themselves were less a croissant and more an excuse to get as much butter and chocolate into someone as possible. Each one was twice the size of a normal croissant. They had to be wrapped in paper to avoid inevitably staining the paper bag they would be packed in.

Lori hoisted one of the treats out of the tray and, after rearranging the display to remove the empty spot and dutifully paying for the treat to avoid being labeled a thief, bit into the treat. These treats had been made by her boss and were one of the best sellers and with good reason. The croissant was bursting with a semi solid chocolate ganache that was so rich Lori found herself struggling to get down the first bite. She wasn't accustomed to eating something so rich in the morning but she wasn't about to give up. She'd sampled these kinds of treats many times but never eaten an entire one. What kind of baker would she be if she couldn't even finish off something cooked in the kitchen where she worked?

The treat was incredibly tasty but so hard to eat. She found herself running to grab a napkin as the croissants filling dripped out, forcing her to cup her paw under it as she rushed to keep form losing any of those precious calories. Once she'd gotten it back under control she worked around the hole she'd made in the crunchy outer shell of the croissant and worked her muzzle into the soft buttery insides. Her snout was quickly smeared with chocolate and she turned towards the corner of the room like a child with a sweet they shouldn't have.

She got through half of the treat before she found herself unable to continue. Her jacket and face was a mess of bits of crumbs and the odd dab of chocolate. Reluctantly, Lori placed the half eaten treat down on a shelf over her work station and went to the sink to clean herself up. There was just no way she was going to be able to finish it without a rest. The first round went to the croissant.

All throughout the morning Lori sought out chances to snack and nibble away. She would move around, offering to taste samples of baked goods and stuck her finger into mixing bowls when no one was looking. She used her reputation as a non-snacker to her advantage. Stealing a cookie off a tray here and taking a profiterole there. It was amazing that no one thought to blame her when they found an empty spot on a tray or noticed a baker's dozen was actually just a regular dozen when it landed in the display case. By the time her break came around Lori was so stuffed with treats that she felt like she was going to burst. Clearly she'd overdone it and would not be able to eat anything for the rest of the day. There was just no way.

What Lori was soon to learn however, was that stuffing yourself with sweets may fill you up. But it didn't fill you up for long. Her stomach was growling for more and so Lori was back to sneaking snacks and treats around the kitchen. She even went so far as to bake an entire extra batch of cookies just so she could keep herself snacking without arousing suspicion. She did feel a little guilty using her position as a means to stuff herself despite the bakery's standing rule about allowing snacking. The owner preferred there to be clean plates at the end of the day rather than day olds. Lori still felt guilty about it however. There would be furs coming in looking for something only to find the last one gobbled up by Lori in her attempt it expand her waistline. So as a means of satisfying her conscience she kept a tally of everything she swiped and planned to pay it all back at the end of the day.

It seemed like an eternity had passed when the clock finally struck noon. Lori found she was still buzzing with energy from all the sugar she'd consumed but also somehow too stuffed with pastry and calories to want to do anything about it. Was this what Chelsea went through all the time? This strange duality of having energy and then not being in any condition to use it? She even contemplated going for a walk to try and burn off some of the energy in order to get herself ready for more food.

“Don't be so stupid!” Lori thought to herself, “This is exactly the kind of thing that Chelsea warned you about. If you burn it off now how is any of what you ate going to turn into extra padding?”

With great reluctance Lori pulled herself away from the back door of the bakery and tried to think of what to have for lunch. Her mind immediately when to getting a salad but she struck the idea down just as fast. She would need to have something heavier. She moaned at the thought of piling something rich on top of everything else she'd eaten that day.

Her salvation came in the form of a pizza shop a few doors down from her bakery. Pizza was just the thing. It was greasy and fattening and terrible for you. Plus she wouldn't have to eat that much and it would be a wonderful change from all the sugar she'd been forcing down her gullet. So with some amount of joy at getting out from around so many baked goods Lori made her way over to get her lunch.

The place was just what she expected. The walls were tiled with a red and white pattern that matched the floors. There were several tables set up in a corner surrounded by metal stools bolted down and the cash register sported a case which held the pizza's made fresh that day.

“What can I get you?” The panda behind the counter asked.

“I'll have one slice of pepperoni please,” Lori replied, digging out her wallet but stopped when she watched the panda lift almost half the pizza out of the tray and place it on a cardboard plate.

“What's this?” She asked.

“Pepperoni pizza, is something wrong?”

“Well I think maybe you gave me a few slices too many,” Lori said as she looked down at the mass of cheese and dough that sat in front of her. Memories of failed pizza nights danced across her vision.

“No miss,” the panda explained. “this is the standard size we sell.”

“But it's almost half the pie! Who eats that much pizza?”

“Tons of furs. We made it bigger after people complained that we were shortchanging them. That'll be five dollars.”

Lori stared at the employee for a few moments as she registered that. “Five dollars? I get almost half a pizza for five bucks?!”

“I know! It's great isn't it? Want something to drink with it?”

“How much does it cost with a drink? Lori asked.

“A can of soda is a dollar extra.”

Lori just shook her head. At this point she just wanted to leave. How much did a salad cost? Or even a wrap? There was enough food in front of her for two whole meals and she was getting it for less than the cost of a slice of one of her cakes. With a shrug she handed the panda a ten dollar bill, grabbed her change and carried her lunch to one of the tables.

The slice looked no less intimidating now that she was away from the counter. Although it was a bit thinner than the pizza she'd ordered a few nights ago. With a shrug she bit into it, settling into one of the least enjoyable lunches she'd ever endured. It wasn't that the pizza was bad or anything. For the price it was actually pretty good. It was just the size of everything. She pushed her way through a third of the slice before giving up and carrying the entire mess back to work. There was till the rest of the day to get through and she already started to feel like she did after a huge binge. What was she doing wrong?

Lori, for the first time in her life, started to dread going back into her kitchen. Her stomach was so stuffed with confections and pizza that she didn't think she could ever look at another pastry again. She would just have to think of a way to stay out of the kitchen for the rest of the day. But how? The front counter had a display case beside it. There was literally no way to stay inside the bakery without catching sight of food. Her salvation came when she overheard her boss complaining that someone had called in sick and there was no one to run deliveries.

“I'll do it!” Lori shouted with a little more enthusiasm than was necessary. She piled the delivery boxes onto the back of the scooter that the bakery used for deliveries and was off in a flash. Relief washed over her as she zipped through the streets of downtown. Even the smell of exhaust fumes was a welcome change from all the food that she'd been surrounded by that morning.

“I hope this isn't permanent,” She thought to herself as she sped towards her first delivery. The idea of no longer enjoying baking or being around sweets was a horror too terrible to contemplate. But she wasn't about to be thrown from her course by a few doughnuts and a sore belly. She resolved to not let this sudden dislike of sweets to keep her from reaching her goals.

The bakery had become something of a sensation over the past year and Lori's route took her from offices in large law firms to marketing meetings in skyscrapers. She delivered cakes to birthday parties and doughnuts to social functions. There was even a grand opening of a bookstore that had ordered three dozen cupcakes with icing shaped like piles of books. Everything was up to the usual standard and Lori found herself beaming with pride whenever a customer would open up one of the boxes and see her handiwork there.

“Wow these are amazing!” The manager of the bookstore, an elderly moose, said as he looked the treats over.

“Thanks very much,” Lori said, about to add that these were something she'd worked on personally.

“They really do good work there don't they?” the manager added. “Give my thanks to the manager.”

“Actually,” Lori said, unable to help herself, “I made these.”

“You?” the moose asked, doubt showing clearly on his face. Lori had taken off her jacket and stood in front of him clad in her street close and a helmet. “Are you sure about that young lady?”

Lori's cheeks burned hotly at the tone in the moose's voice. Her fists clenched at her side and a series of lines about not judging based on appearances marched towards the tip of her tongue but she called them off at the last second.

“Of course,” she replied, forcing as much pleasantness into her voice as she could. “I baked them fresh today.”

“But I thought the bakery there was a bear?” The moose asked, not willing to let his suspicions go.

“She's the owner and baker in charge of the kitchens. But I'm her apprentice.”

“Ah so you made them with her supervision then.” The moose reasoned, nodding to himself before giving her another smile. “Give my regards to your teacher then,” And with that he turned and left Lori standing in the doorway, impotent rage welling bubbling about in her sweet packed belly. A litany of curses welled up inside her but she tramped them back down and headed back to her scooter to complete the rest of her deliveries.

When Chelsea got home that day she found her friend laying on the couch, a pillow covering her head.

“How'd you do today?” Chelsea asked as she stood behind the couch.

“Terrible!” Lori replied from under the cushion, “I made myself sick with treats and pizza in the morning and nearly burst from trying to force down a few more sweets before I got home! And to top it all off I had to deal with another customer who though I didn't know the first thing about baking! I'm never going to get this right!”

Chelsea frowned at Lori's rant. “How much actual food did you eat today?”

“Huh?” Lori said, giving her friend a puzzled look once the pillow was removed.

“How much actual food did you eat? Like things that weren't soaked in butter or sugar or cheese and grease?”

“I...” Lori trailed off and a blush appeared on her snout.

“You have to eat actual food as well Lori. I told you before you can't rush this. You can't just force feed yourself endlessly. You have to have some balance in your diet otherwise you'll get sick.”

“But you eat sweets all the time!” Lori said, climbing onto her knees on the couch and looking the chipmunk in the face. “You're the best gauge I have for quality pastries and cakes. You eat everything I give you.” It was true. Chelsea seemed to have an almost endless appetite for the treats that Lori made. Some of her best recipes came from the input that she got from Chelsea graciously worked through entire trays of cookies and muffins to help Lori refine her work. The chipmunk owed much of her belly and thighs to the confections that came out of Lori's kitchen.

“Yeah but I eat other things as well,” Chelsea explained. “I have some balance in my diet. I just eat a lot of other things as well. Honestly Lori, how do you know so little about nutrition?”

Lori collapsed back onto the couch. “I've never had to think about it before now. I just lived my life and ate what I ate. My body just sort of ran itself.”

Chelsea sighed. Lori was in serious need of help if she was going to see this through. She couldn't even eat poorly without getting too enthusiastic about it.

“Well, at least you aren't lacking in the enthusiasm department,” Chelsea said and pulled out her phone.

“What are you doing?” Lori asked.

“Calling in sick to work, It's clear you need more help. So I'm going to help you get a diet plan in order.”

Lori leapt up from the couch, her worries suddenly forgotten, and wrapped her arms around Chelsea's neck making the chipmunk blush. “Thank you so much Chelsea! That's so nice of you.”

“I've got some sick time I need to use up anyway,” Chelsea said before pulling herself away from Lori long enough to make her call. Lori watched as Chelsea twisted her face into a grimace and placed a paw on her stomach. She bent forward and leaned to one side. It looked as though she'd been struck with several strange maladies at once.

“H'oooohh I don't think I'm going to be able to make it in tomorrow,” She moaned. Lori stifled a chuckle at the sight of Chelsea going method in her attempts to make her illness more believable. “I'll be in on Friday,” She said and turned the phone off before she heard the reply.

“Was all that necessary?” Lori asked. She'd never had any issue with trying to prove she was ill when she called in sick.

“Believe me,” Chelsea said after putting her phone away. “You have to really lay it on thick. Manager's don't usually like doing their own work let alone anything extra. But now we need to think about dinner.”

“Oh no,” Lori waved her paws in front of her. “No more food today.”

“You've gotta eat something Lori. Don't worry I'll find something that isn't too heavy. Trust me on this.” Chelsea said, giving her stomach a pat. “I'm the expert right?”

Lori didn't have to wait long for dinner to arrive. Chelsea let the poor ferret rest for a little while longer while she went out to pick up something to eat. The chipmunk returned with a large cradled in her arms. Lori felt a surge of fear rise up in her chest as she watched that bag come towards the living room and end up sitting in front of her.

“What did you get?” She asked, eyeing the bag as though it might contain a snake.

“Just a couple of sandwiches,” Chelsea replied and opened the bag. She produced two wrapped sandwiches and handed one to Lori. The ferret gently unwrapped it to find a roast beef sandwich covered with mustard and sauerkraut as well as two different kinds of cheeses. Despite her previous reluctance she did feel hungry and took a bite out of it. It was toasted to boot and tasted amazing.

“See?” Chelsea when she noticed Lori's attitude change. “Food doesn't have to be some great chore. It's not about stuffing yourself till you pop. You just enjoy rich things on a more than regular basis. Here,” She offered Lori a can of sparkling raspberry soda. Lori looked the can over, noticed the sugar content, and gasped.

“It's not just cakes and pies that are stuffed with sugar,” Chelsea continued. “There's plenty of stuff you can eat and drink to gain weight. Just look for things that are extra tasty and that will usually lead you in the right direction.”

“It seems so obvious now,” Lori said, feeling a bit foolish at all her outlandish attempts to gain weight. “I should have come to you sooner.”

“Don't worry about it,” Chelsea said through stuffed cheeks (quite the sight on a chipmunk) “We'll get you sorted out in no time.”

After their meal Chelsea revealed dessert, a small tub of gourmet ice cream. Lori was a little uneasy about having anymore sweets but Chelsea coaxed and goaded her on to try a few spoonfuls. Once more Lori was happy to find herself able to eat a decent portion of the ice cream before handing it back to Chelsea. The ice cream was only a fraction of the size of the tubs that Lori had purchased but was bursting with far more fat and calories than what she was buying.

“Anything with the words 'rich' or 'decadent' in the title are sure fire wins,” Chelsea said as she licked her spoon clean. “And double chocolate is even better. Not to mention cookie dough.”

From there they simply relaxed on the couch, both content and with full bellies. They watched a few shows and flipped to a cooking channel so Lori could get some hints on some home cooking that might help her in her gaining quest. Eventually the pair went to their separate rooms. Chelsea took Lori's phone from her and told her not to get up until Chelsea did. The more sleep that Lori had the better. It was just the thing to slow down that rampant metabolism of hers.

It was nine thirty in the morning when Chelsea finally rose from her bed. She felt refreshed for the first time in a few weeks. It was nice to wake up late with no worry about having to rush in the morning. Lori, on the other hand, was not fairing as well. The ferret had woken up at seven thirty and, try as she might, she just couldn't get back to sleep. She'd passed the hour and a half before Chelsea woke up with pouring through cookbooks.

“Well, at least you stayed in bed the entire time,” Chelsea conceded as she got ready to face the day.

“So what's on the agenda today coach?” Lori asked from the kitchen table. She was still wearing her pajamas when Chelsea came in.

“Well first off you need to put something on. We're going out for breakfast.”

“Out? But why not stay in?” Lori asked. “I can make us some waffles and pancakes.”

“We can have that any time,” Chelsea replied. “I'm in the mood for something a bit more filling. We'll treat ourselves to a nice breakfast. The walk will help us justify that we're doing something good rather than stuffing ourselves with more calories than we need.”

Lori gave Chelsea a confused look “How does that make any sense?”

“You tend to rationalize things when you eat poorly,” Chelsea explained. “The walk to the restaurant and back to the house helps to give you the feeling that you've been out and about rather than just going from one place to sit and eat then back to another place to sit and eat.”

Lori still didn't understand but she went to her room to get ready. She soon returned and the pair of them headed off for breakfast.

It was amazing how little Lori knew of her own neighborhood. As a baker she was aware of the different restaurants around their apartment but Chelsea was on a whole other level. She knew every bistro and cafe within a three mile radius it seemed. As they walked down the street the chipmunk would point out various places of interest.

“If you're craving something Mexican that food truck is great. It's filling and cheap. Over there is a great place to buy frozen yogurt. They use full fat as well. None of that wimpy fat free stuff.”

Every sandwich shop and deli was laid out before Lori. She was told where the best shwarma was and even a few places that sold donairs that weren't too big or too messy. Lori had never seen this side of Chelsea before. The chipmunk acted like a tour guide in her own city. Only this was a tour of calories and fat content.

Finally, they stopped in front of a small gastro pub whose entrance was through a small alley beside a shoe shop. Lori wasn't exactly sure where they were going but soon found herself standing in line waiting to be seated in small outdoor patio. Once seated the pair enjoyed the warm morning and sipped from the rich specialty coffee's they had on the menu. After a few minutes of relaxation an eager skink came up to their table and listed off the daily specials.

Chelsea didn't need long to think of her order “I'll have the eggs Benedict,”

“And I'll have,” Lori paused as she looked over the menu. “I guess I'll have the same.”

“Good choice,' The serve replied. “What would you like on it? We have ham, bacon, or smoked salmon.”

“Oh smoked salmon definitely,” Chelsea said.

“Salmon for me too,” Lori said.

Once the waiter left the pair leaned back into their chairs and began to chat. Chelsea described the work she'd been doing that week. Office work always seemed such a foreign concept to Lori but she listened dutifully. Adding in nods and gasps at inter office politics and the drama that came with it. For her part she explained the kind of baked goods that they were planning to roll out at her work. There was plenty of experimentation going on with pumpkin muffins and bacon. The talk of finally perfecting an all in one breakfast muffin was ever present in her kitchen.

When the food arrived Lori was struck dumb at the sight of it. Two large poached eggs sad slathered in hollandaise sauce along with several large slices of smoked salmon. All of this was piled up on two hot biscuits along with a pile of heavily salted home fries.

“Well, dig in,” Chelsea said, biting into her first mouthful and moaning. “Mmm its so good!”

Lori watched the look of pleasure cross over her friends face and in that moment realized what Chelsea had been trying to tell her. Sure Lori could keep ordering take out and eating fast food. She could keep stuffing herself at work on an endless supply of cakes and cookies. But all that food and all that fat wouldn't make her happy. She'd grow to hate the very things she enjoyed making and come to look at it as a chore. Food was meant to be enjoyed and the only way she was going to get anywhere was to take a page out of Chelsea's book. At that moment, in that small patio, sitting with a friend, Lori knew that it would be an easy thing to do.

She bit into the mass of egg and sauce and let out a soft moan. The pair of them gushing over just how delicious it all was. The eggs were cooked perfectly and the flavors mingled together into a taste that delighted their senses. It all tasted so wonderful and it was chock full of calories. Lori didn't need to be told how much butter there was in the food she was eating. Yet she didn't care. The fries were coupled with a delicious mayo dipping sauce that sent her taste buds into overdrive. She was so delighted that she ended up finishing everything on her plat. Something she had never thought possible before.

“So,” Chelsea asked once Lori had finished the last fry on her plate. “What did you think?”

“I think I need to start coming here every morning!”

“Well it's a good way to fill yourself out but there's plenty of other places you can try out.”

“You just name the places and I'll go,” Lori said, licking her fingers clean of every last bit of food.

“Let's think about that after we get home. We still have lunch to think about don't we?”

“How can you think about food so soon after we've eaten?” Lori asked. As much as she enjoyed every bite she still felt incredibly stuffed. But it wasn't the heavy feeling she'd felt the day before when she'd eaten nothing but pastries.

Chelsea laughed. “I'll make sure its light.”

“But not too light,” Lori replied.

“Oh don't worry about that. We'll save the heavy stuff for dinner.”

Once they were back in the apartment Chelsea left Lori to herself for the rest of the morning. Lori was free to do as she liked but she had to stay as sedentary as possible. The idea of staying in one spot was pretty easy for Lori after that breakfast. It wasn't has heavy as some of the other stuff she'd packed herself with but it was enough to make her cling to the couch and relax. Before she knew it she fell asleep watching television and only woke up when Chelsea came back a few hours later. While Chelsea messed around in the kitchen Lori wondered where the chipmunk had gone but the question disappeared when another bag was set down on the coffee table.

Their lunch turned out to be a rich potato and cheese soup that came from a cafe inside a bodega near Chelsea's work.

“What took you so long?” Lori asked as she opened the container holding her soup.

“I was almost spotted by my boss,” Chelsea grumbled, setting out her own soup as well as several large buttered rolls. “I had to hide out in a walk in clinic until I was sure no one was around.”

“Didn't anyone ask you why you were there?”

“Nope,” Chelsea shrugged. “I ended up getting an appointment just to be on the safe side.”

“Oh really?” Lori laughed, dipping part of a roll into her soup. “And did the doctor find out what was wrong with you?”

“Yeah,” Chelsea grumbled. “I spend too much time getting teased by my roommate.”

Lori giggled as she ate. The soup was far richer and tastier than anything Lori usually ate. Her idea of soup was never something so thick and filling. The rolls were a perfect addition. The bread soaking up the soup and making each bite a mix of textures and flavors that warmed her belly and relaxed her completely.

Once the soup was and rolls were finished Chelsea cleared away the garbage and headed into the kitchen. Lori was left again to lounge on the couch, her shirt riding up over her stuffed belly. She was starting to feel bloated and even tried to stick her stomach out to try and imagine what it might look like. The gray pant she'd tossed on that morning would eventually be too tight to fit and she undid the button on them to get a better idea. How big would she get? It was hard to gauge. Certainly she liked the idea of getting larger but how far was she going to take it?

With a grunt Lori pulled herself up and watched Chelsea moving around the kitchen. Was she aiming to get as big as Chelsea? For some reason Lori didn't think so. It wasn't that she disliked Chelsea's body type. She adored the soft and cuddly look that the chipmunk sported. She just knew that it wouldn't quite work on her. She'd just have to trust herself to know when the right moment to ease back a bit was.

“Alright,” Chelsea said, coming back into the living room with a plate of cookies. “Something to nibble at until dinner.”

Lori looked at the plate and was surprised to find that she wasn't terrified of the thought of eating more. Her previous attempts at overeating usually left her terrified of the mere mention of food. The cookies sitting in front of her looked appetizing enough. She just didn't feel any desire to eat them.

“Oh I'm not hungry anymore Chelsea. I'm stuffed!” Lori said, patting her stomach to help illustrate that fact.

“I know. But have one a little later,” Chelsea said.

“But I won't be hungry for a while yet,”

Chelsea gave the ferret a sidelong glance.“So? Just eat them when you aren't feeling too stuffed. Another key to gaining weight, maybe one of the most important, is to eat even when you aren't hungry.” With that, Chelsea pushed a cookie into her snout and leaned back into the couch to watch TV.

After another hour of lounging around Lori finally reached for a cookie, nibbling the edges. It wasn't much but it was a start. The pair continued their lazy day. They chatted about work and life in general. Each one going on about issues they saw online or any one of various topics that friends discussed when they had nothing better to do.

Eventually Chelsea yawned and got up from the couch, declaring that she was going to go for a nap. Despite her usual energetic demeanor Lori found herself feeling tired as well.

“It's all that rich food and lack of movement,” Chelsea said with another yawn. “It's good for the belly.”

Chelsea left Lori to snooze on the couch and headed into her room. The pair spent the rest of the afternoon dozing and relaxing. Both lost in a blissful slumber that came from a day off and a full stomach. The plate of cookies sat empty beside the couch.

When Lori woke up again it was almost five o'clock. Chelsea appeared over the back of the couch. “You gonna live on that couch now?”

Lori stuck her tongue out at the question. “Why not? It's comfy enough.”

“Alright then. If you want to stay here you'll miss out on dinner.”

“Dinner?” Lori exclaimed. Her sudden excitement surprising both of them. “what are we having”

“Come into the kitchen and check it out.”

Lori may have been the better baker out of the pair but that wasn't to say that Chelsea couldn't cook. The kitchen table had been set with four pots set above small flames. Around the pots sat different mixes of breads, meats and seafood. The smell of cheese and sauces filled the room.

“Fondue?” Lori said in amazement. This was by far the most ambitious meal she'd ever seen Chelsea attempt.

“I figured I'd go all out if I was gonna show you how it's done,” Chelsea replied.

Lori leaned over one of the pots and stared down into a pool of bubbling cheese. “Well color me impressed Chelsea. This is amazing!”

Chelsea blushed at the compliment and moved to her chair on the other side of the table. “Aww don't mention it. Now don't be shy. Let's dig in!”

Lori had never had fondue before. She was aware of it certainly but it always seemed to complicated and time consuming. It was the kind of thing you did for special occasions and even then only if you wanted to really impress. Chelsea had borrowed the set from a friend and spent the afternoon setting it all up while Lori slept on the couch. The ingredients had been purchased while she was out getting lunch.

There wasn't much to learn as the pair found out. The cheese was for bread and the sauces were for meat and shrimp. A few pieces were lost in the pots and they laughed and joked while trying to fish each piece out. Lori had been right, there was quite a mess to be had when working with fondue. But they both admitted that it was delicious. With such small portions it was easy to forget how much you were eating. Lori put away almost half a loaf of bread and who knew how much cheese. This was along with large pieces of beef and a dozen large shrimp. Chelsea put Lori to shame of course. Her appetite well beyond the ferret and so there wasn't a scrap of food left when they were both finished.

“Oh that was delicious!” Lori said as she leaned back into her chair. She rested her paws on her stomach, patting it softly.

“Well I hope you saved a little room for dessert.” Chelsea said with a wink. Lori watched, too stuffed to move, as Chelsea got up form the table, clearing as much of the plates and pots away as she could before heading to fridge. She rummaged around a bit inside before bringing out a new pot which she sat on one of the stands. The smell of chocolate began to fill the air.

“Oh no I don't know,” Lori said.

“Come on Lori,” Chelsea said, goading her friend on as she set out bowls of marshmallows and strawberries. “Don't tell me you're gonna turn down chocolate?”

“But I'm stuffed!” Lori groaned. “I'm at max capacity! No more room.”

“I think you can find a bit of room,” Chelsea smiled, dipping a marshmallow into the chocolate and munching it. “Mmmm! Shoulda just set up the chocolate one first! You have to try this!”

But Lori was still too stuffed to move. She stayed in her laid back position in her chair, not daring to get closer to the table. Her mind was still reeling from her poor attempts at swelling up. The idea of rich chocolate and marshmallows still felt like something beyond her current abilities.

“Trust me Lori,” Chelsea said, dipping in another marshmallow and waving it in front of Lori's snout. “You'll love it.”

With great reluctance Lori opened her snout and took the proffered treat. There was an instant change as she munched and down the warm treat. A grin spread across her snout and she sat up in her seat. “Mmm! You weren't kidding!” She said, suddenly craving more.

“I told you,” Chelsea replied. “there's nothing like a little dessert after a big meal.”

Lori nodded as she speared a strawberry and smothered it in chocolate. The flavors were of course familiar. She was no stranger to chocolate covered strawberries or marshmallows. But it was the scenario that had made all these things better. A full stomach and the idea of being so wicked as to eat just a bit more despite already having so much. All that savory food making the sweet tastes of the chocolate and berries explode on her tongue. Another marshmallow and another berry passed her lips. Followed by a few wafer cookies that Chelsea brought out. It was as though they were dipping every sort of treat or cookie into the chocolate. A sort of madness seemed to come over the pair and soon they were breaking out Chelsea's candy stash and digging into Lori's pantry to find any sort of pastry or sweet that might work better when covered in chocolate. Lori found herself eating up every bite, matching Chelsea marshmallow for marshmallow.

By the time the pair finished the pot was empty and they were both laying back in their seats. Chelsea's paws, cheeks and shirt were smeared with chocolaty paw prints while Lori licked her fingers clean and patted her swollen belly. She'd gone farther and eaten more than she'd ever thought possible.

“I think I'm gonna burst,” Lori groaned but not in a remorseful way. She felt packed to the brim and never felt better. To think she'd put so much food away! And it was all gonna turn into extra padding.

“That's good. How you should be at the end of the day,” Chelsea said, stifling a burp. “IF you can end the day like that you'll be expanding in no time.”

“Mmm perfect,” Lori groaned before gripping the sides of the table and hauling herself upright. She swayed for a moment and looked over the mess that was left on the table. Empty bags and candy wrappers covered the table. “But we should probably clean up,” Lori said in the tone of someone that knew it was never going to happen.

“Don't worry. I'll take care of it before I go to bed,” Chelsea lied. Both of them knew that this was a mess that would be waiting for them in the morning.

Lori took her leave of the kitchen without another work. She staggered like a drunk towards her room, using her elbows to prop herself up so as to avoid leaving chocolate smears along the walls of the hallway. She barely remembered washing her paws and snout before falling into bed and immediately passing out into her first ever proper food coma. As she drifted off to sleep Lori knew that this was only the beginning.

Over the next few weeks Lori took everything she'd learned on that day from Chelsea to heart. She went out to eat frequently but avoided most fast food places. The heavy grease and salt was still too much for her. Instead she went to cafe's and bistro's that Chelsea suggested. She had breakfast muffing and oatmeal with cream and honey for breakfasts or even a thick fruit smoothie if she was in a rush. During the morning she'd snack sparingly, only a cookie here or there just to keep her energy up. For lunch she might have a salad or soup. However the soup was always rich and creamy and the salad combined with chicken and heavy dressing. She strove to keep full but not to overeat. Her habits shifting from massive quantities to the portions and foods that Chelsea suggested.

She ate more pasta dishes for dinner. She would make large batches of chicken Alfredo or spaghetti with meatballs which Chelsea welcomed. The chipmunk happy to pitch in for ingredients If it meant such big filling meals after a long day of work. These meals always meant leftovers which Lori was happy to bring in to work with her. And as always she tried to snack as much as she could.

From all this effort and overeating came slow but steady results. Lori's overactive metabolism was soon brought to heel from all the eating she was doing. This, coupled with borrowing her work's scooter to get around meant that she was walking less and less and the results were soon visible on her slim frame. It was slight, but Lori began to notice the extra curve of her stomach and the snugness of her clothing. This realization only pushed her to work harder and she began to find her appetite growing along with her weight. Portions that had once been almost too much soon looked somewhat small. Lori began to get seconds at dinner and would order extra pancakes or a second muffin at breakfast to keep her from getting too hungry before lunch. Her snacks grew in size as well. A cookie every few hours turned into several every hour and she was soon munching and nibbling at everything she baked regardless of who was around. A baker should always be tasting to ensure their recipes were up to par.

“Ungggh!” Lori grunted one morning as she tried to tug her pants on. They were a pair that she'd bought at some point and had realized they were too big. Now, a month since her first proper binge with Chelsea, Lori struggled to get them on. With a huff she gripped either side of the waistband and jumped. To her sudden amazement her body jiggled. The jiggling wasn't confined to just her chest. Lori felt her sides and stomach wobble as well. With a gasp she turned towards the mirror that was hung on her closet door and stared in disbelief at what she saw.

It really was true, she mused as she looked at herself, you really didn't notice the changes until your pants no longer fit.

It wasn't a massive difference between her old shape but it was an obvious change. Lori was looking plumper. Her thighs had puffed out and she had to widen her stance to keep them from gently brushing one another. Her stomach was no longer the flat surface she was used to. It stuck out now, a round and squishy mound that wobbled when she pinched it, tugging a fold of fat that squished between her digits. She turned around and gasped at how her backside had filled out as well. Her once unremarkable backside had expanded into a shapely set of cheeks that jiggled when she shifted her weight back and forth and slowly devoured the underwear she wore.

Her breasts had also swelled as well, filling out the bra she was wearing. With joy the ferret realized she was going to need new clothes. She turned this way and that, lifting her snout and noticing the soft swell that had come into her cheeks and the thickness of her neck and shoulders. She was insulated with a thin but noticeable layer of fat. The kind of thing that only the best bakers would have. The kind of padding that came from constantly testing their recipes and never settling for anything less than perfection.

It was the high pitched scream that awoke Chelsea first. She sat bolt upright, pillow still stuck to the side of her head, and looked around half awake as the door to her room was thrust open and Lori ran in, sticking her stomach out in front of her proudly.

“Look!” She shouted, giving her stomach a pat and turning to the side. “Look Look!”

Chelsea opened her eyes blearily and stared at the fuzzy, energetic horror that danced in front of her sleep filled vision. “Buwh?” She yawned, raising her arms over her head and stretching.

“my pants don't fit! My bra is tight and my underwear is giving me a wedgie!” Lori sang, spinning on the spot and bouncing up and down, reveling in the feeling of her extra weight sloshing and jiggling along with her. “Ohmygosh!” She cried, eyes wide in realization. “I'll need a new jacket! Ohh! Yes yes yes yes!” She squealed and ran out of the room.

For her part, Chelsea was happy for her friend at some level. Once the information penetrated the inner recesses of her mind she was sure to be excited for her friend. For the moment however, she was still unaware of what had just happened and fell back into bed, snoring through her alarm while Lori frantically searched for something that would fit her gently fattened form.

It was with no small effort that Lori managed to finally get clothes that fit and make her way to work. She had settled for stealing a few of Chelsea's old things which still fit loosely. Lori had toyed with the idea of going to work bursting out of her ill fitting clothing but pushed the idea away as a little obscene. She didn't want to go baring everything to everyone around her.

Another pleasant surprise was in store for Lori as she climbed onto the scooter. She heard the sound of springs and shocks creaking as the scooter adjusted to the increased weight. How had she never noticed this before? She even bounced up and down a few times to hear it creak and groan before heading off to work, keenly aware of how much extra effort it took the scooter to get her there.

Once inside Lori rushed immediately to her peg where her chef's jacket hung. Her paws trembled with excitement as she buttoned it up and found that the last two buttons would only close with extreme effort on her part. And even then they stretched ominously suggesting that breathing too hard might pop the buttons off and send them flying around the room.

Lori bounced around the kitchen with more energy and joy than anyone had ever seen before and that was saying something. She was eager to serve every customer and to help with every order. She taste tested every single thing that came out of the ovens and made sure to give customer her opinion on whatever was ordered. To the customers that came in she looked like a keen expert of her craft. The confidence she exuded was like nothing they'd ever seen before. Of course they took her advice on their purchases. Why wouldn't they? A ferret as well fed as the one that served her clearly knew what she was talking about. She was filled with an infectious energy that caused her customers to order a few extra doughnuts or pastries. They went for slightly larger cakes and overestimated their needs. It was as though her love of baked goods and enthusiasm infected everyone around her. Not since her first time in the kitchen had Lori felt so in her element.

Lori was awash with thanks and praise from everyone that came into the bakery. To her eternal delight a few even complimented her on the amazing way she ran her bakery, mistaking her for the manager. This included a certain moose that had come in to give his praise to the order he'd received.

“Those were the most amazing cupcakes I've ever eaten,” He said. “They disappeared in less than a minute and everyone was begging to know where I got them from.”

“I'm glad you liked them sir,” Lori replied with a wide grin.

“You run a wonderful bakery here miss.”

“Oh, I'm not the manager,” Lori replied.

“Well, head baker anyway. I must let your manager know that they've hired the most talented baker I've ever met. With your skill It's a wonder you haven't opened your own shop my dear.”

Lori thought her heart was going to explode at that moment. If a lightning bolt had struck her dead at that moment she would die happy.

“Oh I don't know about that,” She said, blushing from all the praise.

“You'd run everyone else out of business I'm sure my dear if you opened a place of your own. But anyway,” He went on, looking over the display case and trying to make up his mind. “I just don't know what to get. I've got a book club meeting tonight and I'm trying to decide what would be the best thing to bring. Now what does the expert suggest?”

“Hmm,” Lori tapped her chin before stepping out around the front desk to stand beside the moose. It took every ounce of her composure to keep her legs from wobbling. “Why don't I tell you about our daily specials?”

The sudden increase in Lori's food consumption had an added benefit for Chelsea that the ferret hadn't anticipated. Where Lori had been focused mainly on growing to a specific size Chelsea, on the other hand, had no such upper limit. The chipmunk enjoyed the process of growing for its own sake rather than to obtain any tangible benefits from it. An upper limit of growth was never something Chelsea thought of. For her weight gain was its own reward and Lori's intense interest in rich foods and larger portions allowed Chelsea to eat her fill with impunity.

As long as the had been roommates Chelsea had tried to contain her gluttonous tendencies in order to keep herself from looking like a bit of a pig. With Lori stuffing herself Chelsea felt she had a more open invitation to the tastier foods and larger portions that she craved but kept away from. The advice she had given Lori about quality of food and avoiding the more unhealthy options for fear of what they might do didn't seem to the apply to the food that Chelsea ate. Several times during the week after Lori received her long awaited praise based around her size Chelsea had gone a little overboard on binges. It was Lori's turn to come home to find her roommate passed out on the couch, surrounded by pizza boxes and ice cream containers. Only this time there wasn't a crumb left to be seen.

Lori didn't say anything about this of course. It wasn't really her business what her friend ate. Besides, Chelsea had been so helpful that it didn't seem right to chastise her friend about her eating habits. Lori was new to this kind of thing and Chelsea was an expert. Although Lori did look with envy at some of the larger meals that Chelsea brought home with her on her nights off. They continued on this new path of gain and size expansion with Lori trying to keep herself at a steady level without getting too large while Chelsea went whole hog with her treats and take out orders.

This arrangement finally reached its head when Chelsea came home one night, take out bags in hand, to find Lori sitting at the kitchen table.

“I'm home,” Chelsea called out, setting her bags onto the kitchen table, “and I got Pad Thai!”

“mmhm,” Lori mumbled.

“Something wrong?” Chelsea asked as she lifted plastic containers of noodles and curry out of the bags before grabbing plates from the cupboards.

“Oh, nothing. It's just this,” Lori said, holding up a pamphlet that had been holding her attention for most of the day. The cover showed an explosion of cakes and pies flying towards the reader with the words “PastryMania” written over it. Chelsea took the pamphlet from her friends paw and flipped it open.

“PastryMania, isn't that the baking competition thing?” Chelsea asked while she read. The inside was filled with pictures of beautifully decorated cakes and various forms of confectionery along with pictures of bakers and chefs from all over the country. There were panel discussions, professional lectures and classes from top chefs.

“It's more than just a baking competition,” Lori said, taking the pamphlet back. “It's one of the biggest baking conventions in the country. With the biggest baking competition to boot.”

“You thinking of going?” Chelsea asked. Lori was always interested in learning more about baking and improving her skills. The sheer fact she was willing to forcibly gain weight to improve her standing with customers was proof enough of that.

“I'm thinking of competing,” Lori answered, “Well my boss things I should. She wants me to represent the store.”

A smile curled over the plump chipmunks snout.“Really? Lori that would be awesome! You'd win for sure!”

“You really think so?”

“Of course I do. You're the best baker I've ever met.” Chelsea replied as she assembled a large plate of food for herself. “And if you're boss thinks you should go then what more evidence do you need?”

Despite Chelsea's enthusiasm Lori still didn't seem to be convinced. “But these competitions are for the top bakers in their fields. It's all about baking a specific sample size and presentation. The kind of baking I do is more quantity than quality.”

“Lori, You've got quantity and quality mastered.” Chelsea said, not about to let her friend downplay her own skill. “When's the competition?

“ It's next month. But I don't really have any sort of signature dish,” Lori said. “But my boss did say I could take some time to perfect my dish and get prepared.”

“Aw come on Lori!” Chelsea groaned around a snoutful of rice and noodles, “I'd kill for that kind of chance. You get time off from work to bake? To just make treats and try out recipes? That's a dream come true!”

Lori found herself smiling at Chelsea's enthusiasm. This was something she'd been wanting to do for years. A chance to finally show off her skills in a professional environment and bring more prestige to the bakery and to herself. With a PastryMania win under her belt she'd have job offers coming in left and right. And even, she thought, a chance to maybe open her own bakery.

“You're right Chelsea,” Lori said finally. “I don't know why I was being so apprehensive. This is a great opportunity and I'm not gonna waste it.”

“That's the spirit!” Chelsea said around another muzzle filled with dinner.

Lori looked from her friend to the kitchen. “But it's going to take a lot of work,” It was one thing to accept the challenge and quite another to get herself prepared for it. “I'll be baking around the clock and I'll need help testing everything.”

“Oh I can help you there,” Chelsea said, relishing the idea of getting to try out her friends experiments. “I'm happy to lend my taste buds if it'll help you win,”

“I wasn't worried about that for a minute,” Lori grinned and got up from the table. Chelsea watched as the ferret headed to the small bookshelf sitting beside the fridge that held her cookbooks. “But with a competition like this I'll need to find a really dynamite recipe. Something that will wow the judges. I can't just show up with eclairs or doughnuts. It's gotta be something big!” Lori found herself becoming filled with energy. This competition was exactly the kind of thing she needed. She loved working at the bakery but there was never much to challenge her there. Sure she could experiment with recipes but that was just a way in which to bring in more customers. Now she was setting herself a challenge that would win her prestige and glory. All she had to do was focus her talents on it and she was sure to be successful.

While Lori flipped through cookbooks and jotted down ideas Chelsea began to muse about the kinds of treats that were going to come her way. She knew that Lori would win, there was no doubt in her mind about that and as an added bonus she'd have first crack at every cookie and cake that left that oven. Before she might have worried about the consequences of so much food but with Lori fully devoted to the idea of bigger being better she was happy to let everything sweet and filling come her way. “So,” Chelsea asked as she dumped the rest of a container of curry onto her plate. “What are you gonna try first?”

Once dinner had been finished, mainly by Chelsea, Lori cleared the kitchen of empty containers and inquisitive chipmunks before beginning to work on her first recipe. Her initial idea was to translate one of the recipes from the her bakery into a singular dish that would show off her skills. The most obvious choice were chocolate croissants which were one of the most popular treats at the bakery. But that recipe was for making over a dozen of the croissants at a time. Did she really want to make so many just to try and improve on the recipe? How was she going to scale down the recipe into a more manageable size? The answer seemed simple enough, just reduce everything down to reduce the portion sizes. But what would that do to the flavor? The only option was to experiment until she got it right.

A shiver ran down Lori's spine as she started work on the croissants. This was exactly the kind of thing she lived for. Being able to work in a kitchen and experiment with recipes and portion sizes. Who knew what sort of new recipes she could create with so much time to perfect her craft?

“Woah that was fast,” Chelsea said as she looked on the still steaming pile of half a dozen chocolate croissants. She'd finally been let back into the kitchen after Lori had finished the first batch and was eager to see what her friend had cooked up.

“I just went with my gut,” Lori said, handing a still hot to the touch croissant to Chelsea. The chipmunk could feel the butter leaking out of the flaky pastry. Not to mention the chocolate ganache that oozed from either end. It was rare for Chelsea to get one of these monstrous confections when they were still warm and she bit into it with relish. Her ears wiggled and that bushy tail puffed up as pure pleasure drifted through her plump frame. She moaned softly, licking chocolate from her lips and fingers, trying to keep the treat from dripping globs of ganache onto the floor.

“These are perfect!” Chelsea moaned, “You'll win with these for sure.”

“Oh I'm not using these for the competition,” Lori replied. She was already clearing away space on the kitchen tables and counter for more mixing bowls and ingredients. Lori set the plate of croissants aside on top of the microwave without a second thought.

“What?” Chelsea gasped. The careless way Lori treated such delicious treats felt like sacrilege to the chipmunk. She lifted the plate off reverently and held them close as though she feared another attempt of desecration. “Why wouldn't you use these? They're delicious!”

Lori was already looking through a cook book set on the table,“I know but they're too plain. I'll never win with something so simple. If I'm going to do this I need something more imaginative. Why should I limit myself to something I've done before? This is my chance to really show off what I'm capable of Chelsea. PastryMania could be my big chance to make a name for myself. I'll never do that if I coast on a recipe that I just helped to perfect. It's gotta be something different. Something that shows my personality.”

Chelsea had finished the first croissant that Lori had handed her while the ferret spoke and was already eyeing a second. “I see what you mean,” She said mid bite. “So what are you gonna try next?”

“I've got a few ideas but you'll have to wait and see.”

“Okay I get it,” Chelsea replied, taking the plate of treats with her out of the kitchen. “I'll leave the doctor to her experiments.”

An array of smells wafted out of the kitchen into the living room which caused Chelsea to constantly look over the back of the couch to try and catch a glimpse of what Lori was doing. Only momentarily of course, there was still the matter of those croissants in front of her. Each one was light and flaky but still heavy with filling and butter. Each one sat like a chocolate coated canon ball inside Chelsea stomach but she didn't care. It was rare for her to get access to so many treats so easily. She usually got a few cookies or danishes that Lori brought home. The idea of being close to a kitchen that was constantly pumping out treats filled Chelsea with a gluttonous delight.

Almost an hour passed before Lori came out of the kitchen, carrying another plate of treats. Chelsea was still packed from her croissant binge but still managed to try one one of the cookies that were set out in front of her.

“I tried out a recipe with sugar cookies,” Lori explained. The cookies themselves looked like average sugar cookies but instead of being one color and coated with icing these seemed to have swirls of red color running through them.

“Why do they look so odd?” Chelsea asked, lifting one of the cookies in front of her face. There was a scent of strawberries and sugar emanating from each treat. Without thinking Chelsea stuffed the cookie into her snout and groaned softly. The cookie and icing swirls blended together in her mouth perfectly. Causing the cookie to remain moist but not too moist and let the flavors mix and flood over her tongue.

“How do you like em?” Lori asked.

“Delicious!” Chelsea said through stuffed cheeks, already pushing another treat into her snout.

“Good,” Lori replied and headed back to the kitchen.

“Is this the recipe you're going to use?” Chelsea asked. “Cause it'd win for sure,”

“No not these,” Lori said as she went back to clearing off the kitchen table. “They're more a proof of concept. I wanted to test out how sugar cookies react to getting soaked in icing like that. Since I know it works I can try out a few other ideas.”

Chelsea's stomach let out a hefty gurgle. She loved Lori's cooking but even her appetite had its limits. “How much are you planning on baking tonight?”

“Just a few more batches. Nothing too big. I've got an idea for muffins and maybe a few tarts. I'm gonna have to head out tomorrow and get some supplies. You're still good to help out right?”

“Of course I'm gonna help out!” Chelsea replied, ignoring her stomachs complaints and pushing in another cookie. “If you've got the goods I've got the appetite.”

“Great!” Lori squealed as she dashed back to the fridge, new recipe ideas already flying through her head. “I can't wait,”

“Me either,” Chelsea replied through stuffed cheeks. “I just need a glass of milk.”

Chelsea slept uneasily that night. She'd spent the entire evening tasting various recipes that flooded out from the kitchen. Lori had shifted into a level of productivity that rivaled anything an automated bakery could rival. Trays of cookies and cupcakes had been shoveled out in front of Chelsea. Lori was still having trouble scaling her recipes down and so the chipmunk found the coffee table in front of the couch groaning under the load of treats that were set up for Chelsea's critique. It got to the point where Chelsea could only try a few bites of each item before moving on. What was worse, Lori was no longer satisfied with Chelsea usual enthusiastic response. 'this is amazing', and 'I love it', were no longer adequate responses anymore.

Lori wanted concrete feedback and would not let Chelsea off the hook until she'd given it. What was perfect about the cookies? Why were they so good? Was it the butter? The cooking time? The mixture of flavors? Were they better with milk? Without? Did the fact she'd eaten well over a dozen cookies before hinder her enjoyment at all? All of these questions were fired off at Chelsea after each plate was presented and Lori wouldn't leave until they were answered. She even had a notebook that she used to jot down everything the chipmunk said about each treat.

Chelsea wasn't upset by the questions, just overwhelmed. She had expected this baking challenge to be something she could enjoy alongside of Lori. The ferret would bake and Chelsea would eat. It seemed simple enough to Chelsea. She hadn't realized the focus and drive that would posses Lori when she accepted it. Although, given Lori's previous goal of gaining weight, Chelsea should have known she was going to be swept along by the wave of energy her friend produced.

When Chelsea woke up the next morning she felt groggy and her mouth was still caked with frosting and crumbs. She wandered to the bathroom in her usual doze, intent on getting herself ready to face the day. She half expected to find Lori in the kitchen where she'd left her the night before, still hammering away at different recipes. Had Lori even gone to bed? Chelsea peeked into Lori's room as she headed back to hers from the shower. Her bed didn't even look slept in. A worry began to creep into Chelsea in that moment. Would she need to talk to Lori about going overboard again? The talk would have to wait it seemed as Lori didn't' seem to be anywhere in the apartment.

Chelsea's exploration ended in the kitchen and the disaster area that it had become. It looked as though every single pot, pan, tray, cookie sheet, muffin tray, spatula, measuring cup, whisk, egg beater and utensil capable of measuring or portioning out ingredients had been pulled from every cupboard and drawer during Lori's apparent all night baking session. Every work surface was coated in flower and batter. Bags of flour were sitting on chairs and empty containers of baking powder, baking soda, chocolate chips and any other flavoring agent imaginable were piled up on or around the garbage can. The chipmunk took a deep breath at the sight in front of her. The discovery of Lori's food binges before had been a disaster area. This looked like the remnants of some kind of apocalyptic food related event. Rather than even attempt to make her way through the kitchen Chelsea instead moved around and into the living room where their supply of Tupperware containers had been set out in front of the couch. A small notebook sat on top of a pile of three containers of cookies along with a note written in Lori's hasty, sleep deprived hand.

“gon to store,” Chelsea read, “needed more ingredients. Pleas take this stuf and rate it. Leave notes in bok.

-Lori”

Chelsea had a brief image in her head of a disheveled Lori scribbling down the note and then running off to the store to get more supplies and felt a wave of relief at the knowledge that Lori didn't own a car. That feeling disappeared as quickly as it arrived when she remembered that Lori still had access to a scooter. But there wasn't much she could do about it now. Besides, there was a table full of sweets to consider.

The scent of sugar and icing was thick around the table as Chelsea peeked into each container to try and figure out their contents. A variety of cookies and muffins were on display along with cinnamon rolls with a thick cream cheese icing. Any other fur might have been upset at the idea of consuming so many baked goods after an evening of non stop taste testing but Chelsea was of a different breed. Her stomach immediately began to growl when she spotted what looked to be three breakfast muffins complete with bacon and even had an egg baked right in the middle. If I was getting paid for this I'd be in heaven, Chelsea thought to herself as she gathered up the boxes in her arms, a muffin already half consumed, and headed off to work.

She spent the rest of the morning nibbling and snacking on treats in between bouts of work. Her eating habits closely resembling Lori's first attempts at stuffing herself at work only this time the eater knew what she was doing. Each cookie and cupcake was tested and rated in the note book provided. Chelsea, knowing Lori wouldn't let her get away with giving nothing but glowing praise, tried to be as ruthless as she could but it still was difficult. Lori was an accomplished baker working with subtly modified recipes so there wasn't much room for error. The only issue, and Chelsea couldn't believe she was mentioning this, was the serving sizes. Some of the cookies were a bit too small for her liking and the cupcakes as well. Lori seemed to be reducing the scale but still pumping out large number of what looked to be miniature versions of some of the recipes. This wasn't the case for all of them and those that were smaller were still delicious but it was a bit of a strange thing to get her head around.

By the time lunch time arrived Chelsea had rated each of the boxes of treats that she'd been given. A pile of empty containers sat in bags around her desk while her keyboard was covered in a blizzard of crumbs and icing shards. It was hard to think about anything other than those delicious treats but Chelsea managed to think up an idea for lunch and so headed out to a sandwich shop nearby, cursing herself for not leaving a few treats for dessert and vowing to space out the treats throughout the day from then on. The rest of the day was spent making up for lost time spent eating in the morning and daydreaming about the different snacks that she could try out as well as the useful information she could give Lori when she came home. All the while trying to ignore the hunger for more sweets that had been awoken in her belly.

It felt like the end of her shift would never come but finally, gratefully, Chelsea finished off her shift and was out of the building before anyone else on her floor. She was even seen running through the lobby, an activity so out of place for her that anyone that saw her wasn't sure that it was Chelsea they watched go bouncing past, her pudgy frame wobbling as her body reacted to such an unheard of activity.

She'd made it home in record time, panting all the way and was greeted with a wave of heat and the thick scent of baked goods that had been filling up the corridor leading to her apartment for the entire day. An assembly line of baked goods had been pumping out of the kitchen ever since Lori had obtained two shopping cart loads of supplies and gotten back to work on her baking. On top of every baking sheet and pan having been used it looked as though every plate and bowl had been conscripted into Lori's baking army. Every table and chair now held bowls and plates of various baked goods, causing Chelsea to look around in confusion at where she was going to put her keys or purse. She finally gave up and opened the hall closet, cringing for a moment, half expecting to be buried in an avalanche of muffins.

“Oh you're home!” Lori said from the entrance to the kitchen. The ferret was sporting a new chefs jacket, one that fit her newly enhanced figure and was carrying a tray of brownies still steaming from the oven, “Sorry, I've gotta get this set down somewhere, There's a bunt cake still in the oven. How was your day?”

Chelsea watched Lori's erratic movement, following her as she made her way into her bedroom and set the tray down onto her bed alongside an un-iced chocolate cake “Fine,” she said in a tone that suggested she was worried about where the knives in the apartment were located. “You've been pretty busy I see,”

“I've been crazy busy!” Lori replied, blowing past Chelsea as she heard the timer on the oven go off. “I've got a dozen things on the go right now! This is so great! I've never felt so inspired!”

Chelsea followed after Lori as best she could as the ferret dashed back into the kitchen, letting Chelsea see the bakery's worth of goods that had been piled up in the kitchen. Lori was already at the oven, tugging out the aforementioned cake and sliding it onto a wire rack that had been perched on top of a laundry basket. The mess from the morning was gone, every utensil and sheet now serving to cool or hold freshly made treats.

“How did you manage all this?” Chelsea asked. She didn't know much about baking but she knew enough that there was no way she could possibly get so many different dishes out of there dinky little apartment oven.

“I've been using ovens in other apartments,” Lori replied. “Neighbors are very helpful when they hear you're doing some baking and need an extra oven. I think I'll have to get some more notebooks to hand around.”

Chelsea felt a strange sensation of jealousy bubbling up inside of her. Like a great plump dragon she viewed the hoard of pastries that Lori was creating as something she and she alone would get to enjoy. She watched as Lori swayed softly on the spot as she lifted a tray of cookies and slid them into the oven and immediately felt guilty for such a selfish thought.

“Have you slept at all today Lori?”

“Nope! Too much to do! I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. I've got so much to do! So many ideas! I went into work and they offered to let me use one of the ovens there. So I was doing some baking there today, I tried out some tarts and danish pastries but they didn't turn out so well. My boss used them as a daily special and asked me to bring over any other 'failed attempts' so they could try them out on other customers. Plus I've got a few ideas I need to try out involving cheesecake. I know I know its a little heavy but I think I can pull something unique off with it. I started with the idea of creating an entirely new recipe but then I thought why try to reinvent the wheel? There are tons of recipes that are great for a reason. Oh thanks!” Lori's baked goods induced rant was cut off as she took the notebook that Chelsea had retrieved from the chipmunks limp paw. “This'll be great info! I mean, I won't be using any of those recipe's of course, cookies won't win me a PastryMania championship but it'll be good to see where I've been going wrong. Have I mentioned the cheesecake? Oh yeah right I did, now where was I?”

Chelsea watched Lori spin and wheel around the kitchen, a million different thoughts and ideas whirling through her mind as she worked with a wild eyed, sleepy look on her face.

“Maybe you should slow down Lori,” Chelsea said as she intercepted her friend on her way to the fridge.

“Slow down? Are you kidding? I'm just getting warmed up! There'll be plenty more for you to test of course,” Lori said, giving Chelsea stomach a soft pat which made the chipmunk blush. “Don't worry about that. But I really need to get a tray of bear claws from 305's oven before they burn.” With that, Lori was out of the apartment, leaving Chelsea standing in the middle of an unattended bakery. An intense worry filled her up as she nibbled on a delicious looking butter cookie. Lori was going to burn herself out at this rate. Chelsea was going to have to do something about it otherwise the ferret was going to hurt herself.

It was almost twenty minutes before Lori finally reappeared in the apartment with an armload of cakes. She made her way towards the kitchen and found Chelsea standing in front of the oven.

“What's up Chelsea? Wanna help? Well I'm happy that you want to but I really need to do this alone-” Lori stopped when she finally noticed that Chelsea wasn't moving from in front of the oven.

“Uhh Chelsea, I kinda need that,”

“No, you need to relax,” The chipmunk replied, her muzzle dusted with crumbs and her top dappled with a few dribbles of chocolate icing. “You've been going for almost a day straight. If you keep this up then you're going to hurt yourself.”

“Come on Chelsea don't be silly. I'm fine, really. Look, I'll just cook up one more batch of muffins. I've got a great idea for peach cobbler muffins that I think I can make work.”

Chelsea leaned back into the over, her paws tightening on the grip on the counter on either side of it.“That's great, but you can do it in the morning.”

“Okay, fun's over Chelsea,” Lori replied as she stepped towards Chelsea and tried to squeeze past her. “Let me at the oven before it cools down. I don't wanna have to re-heat it again,”

“Nope, not budging till you promise to go rest,”

“Chelsea this is crazy!” Lori said, her voice cracking just a bit as she began to desperately tug at the chipmunks arm. “Let me bake!”

While Lori's expansion had left her with a bit more girth to toss around she was nothing compared to the hefty chipmunk that barred her way. “I will let you bake after you've had some sleep.”

“Okay okay I get it,” Lori said, backing away from the oven. She looked around the kitchen frantically for some way to remove the chipmunk before noticing the crumbs and stains on Chelsea shirt. “I'll go, but wouldn't you rather try a few of the treats I've made?”

Chelsea's stomach growled softly at the mention of more food but she twisted her snout into a look of determination and spread her arms out wider. “Later.”

“Aww why not now?” Lori said, lifting tray of brownies swirled with white and dark chocolate. “Have a taste. I'm sure you'll love it.”

Before Chelsea could reply Lori stuffed one of those fat treats into that fat snout. Chelsea moaned softly, toes curling as the flavors danced over her tongue. “Mphhmm,” Chelsea grunted, blushing red and twisting her snout away.

“Tasty?” Lori asked with a grin.

“Mmmmph, very, but I'm still not moving.”

“Well have another.” Lori said, pushing another treat into Chelsea's snout. The chipmunk tried to turn her muzzle away from those treats but found herself unable to resist as they were pushed on her. She might have used her paws to slide Lori out of the way but that was just what the ferret was hoping she'd do. Another two brownies disappeared before Lori set them aside and looked over her roommate. The chipmunks snout was messy with icing and crumbs but her grip seemed just as strong as ever.

“Hmph, guess those won't do the job. Well, what about these?” Lori lifted a heavy slice of black forest cake and began to grin when Chelsea's eyes widened in horror.

“You wouldn't,”

“Are you gonna move?” Lori asked, waving the slice of cake in front of her like a knife.

“Never.”

“Then it's time to get some feedback!”

Both Chelsea and Lori would find it hard to explain or even talk about what happened after that. Lori came at Chelsea with everything she had. The cake was beyond anything Chelsea had ever eaten before. Her knowledge of black forest cake came from supermarket display cases. This was the first time she'd ever consumed a home made cake and it took almost everything she had to keep herself from rushing over to the rest of the cake to consume it. Lori pushed the entire slice into that snout, hearing Chelsea groan and wriggle as she was stuffed. Chunks of cream and cherries fell and tumbled over the chipmunks chest and onto the floor but still she wouldn't move. From there Lori began far crueler. She moved from each dish she'd made, selecting one cupcake, one cookie, one tart to tease and try to coax Chelsea away from the oven.

“This is white chocolate macadamia,” Lori said as she pushed the cookie into that snout. “I per-roasted the nuts to add to the flavor and doubled up the butter. Tasty isn't it? Bet you'd love to have the rest of the batch. Well its right over there, go have at it.” Yet Chelsea remained vigilant. She munched down every offered treat, knees weakening and stomach stretching. Like some well fed guardian of old she stood her ground.

Lori grew increasingly frantic in her feeding, pushing two or three cookies in at a time, almost burying her roommate in baked goods to try and shift her. Lori left the room at one point, causing Chelsea to think, to pray, that she'd finally given up and gone to bed. Her hopes were dashed when Lori returned with a plate covered in an assortment of brownies and slices of cheesecake. A sampler platter intended to finally break Chelsea's will.

The treats were delicious beyond reason. Even in her stuffed, bewildered state, Chelsea found herself moaning over the flavor and texture of each treat that was pushed into her lips. Lori grew more and more frustrated as her roommate's stomach bloated and filled out, straining the buttons on her top as each fattening treat found its way into that bloating middle but still Chelsea would not be moved.

“Here,” Lori panted as she fed Chelsea a lemon curd filled doughnut. “try this one, and a dozen more if you'll just move.”

“nomphh,” Chelsea groaned. Her stomach had long ago started to complain and creak from the influx of a buffets worth of desserts that had been crammed into it. “Never,”

“You'll run out of steam eventually!” Lori huffed, leaning against the kitchen table. “I'll stuff you with everything here and roll you out of my kitchen if that's what it takes.”

“It's have my kitchen too,” Chelsea belched. Her legs felt like noodles and her arms were begging her to let go. How long had she been standing there? It felt like an eternity. “So I can stand here if I want.”

“I'll, I'll shift you yet,” Lori said as she wiped her brow. “I just need a second to catch my breath.”

“Hah, looks like you're the one that's gonna run out of steam,” Chelsea replied even as she began to slide down on hoer backside.

“No way,” Lori yawned as she slipped down to the floor across from her roommate. Chelsea's muzzle, cheeks, chin and shirt were a complete mess of cream and frosting. It looked as though an entire cake had been pressed against her face and chest and given the amount she'd eaten that was probably accurate.

“I'm just getting warmed up!” Lori yawned once more, her head rolling gently forward. “I just need...a minute...to rest my eyes.” The last few words trailed off as the ferret finally succumbed to exhaustion and she passed out.

“Oh, Thank god.” Chelsea groaned, letting go of the sides of the oven and leaning back into the door. Her paws rested heavily atop that bloated middle and she gave a another belch of triumph before passing out into the deepest food coma she'd ever known.

When Chelsea awoke the next morning it was to the image of Lori sprawled out on the floor in front of her. For the first time since she'd moved in it was the first time Lori had ever slept longer than Chelsea. The events of the previous evening were still rolling around inside the chipmunks head. Images of food being brought towards her by a work crazed, sleep deprived ferret caused Chelsea stomach to gurgle out of discomfort. She didn't want to see another scrap of pastry or cake for a good long time. As her mind slowly cleared she suddenly realized she had no idea what time it was and thought that somehow her boss wouldn't accept a food coma as a valid excuse for being late.

She lifted her paws from their resting position on her stomach and found her shirt rising up as well. The cream and syrups that had saturated her shirt created a sort of glue that kept her paws firmly affixed to that rather tight looking shirt. With considerable effort she rolled herself on her side, careful to keep from disturbing Lori's slumber, and dragged herself to her knees. After a bit of fumbling she was able to tug her shirt off, leaving her with the shirt still affixed to her paws but at least she was able to use them again. From there Chelsea gripped the side of the kitchen counter and pulled herself to her feet before trudging out of the kitchen and into the bathroom.

Once in the shower Chelsea was able to finally get herself cleaned up from the mess made the night before. Her stomach still looked swollen and as Chelsea poked at it she wondered just how many calories she'd consumed that evening. Her belly stretched out like a soccer ball still crammed full of those fattening treats. Another burp escaped her muzzle as she examined her chest and belly as they wobbled heavily as she worked to try and get syrup and caramel out of her fur. Her round snout and cheeks were one of the harder spots to get clean. Even with the water helping her she winced and whimpered as she tried to avoid pulling any fur out of her face. She considered herself lucky none of it had gotten in her hair and found a memory unbidden from her childhood when she'd gotten an entire pack of gum lodged into her hair. A chill ran down her spine at the thought and those sudsy paws carefully inspected her head for any stray bit of sugar or sticky toffee.

After her shower Chelsea made her way back into her room to get dressed. It was a little trickier than normal after that heaping helping of dessert Lori had stuffed into her. Several of her button up shirts strained to contain the newly swollen girth of her belly and she cursed under her breath as she struggled to get the buttons to stretch around that newly expanded tummy. Anyone else might have just given up after the first few tries but Chelsea kept struggling before finally getting the shirt to close. There, she muttered to herself, panting from the effort and looked up into the mirror on her dresser just in time to see three of the buttons pop free, letting that creamy white belly sag and swell out over her pants. I really did it this time, Chelsea moaned after she tossed the shirt into the laundry hamper. Or, to put it a different way, Lori had really done it this time.

That thought caused Chelsea to stop in her tracks. Why hadn't she done more to stop it? Lori would never have laid a paw on her. Not really. No matter how frantic or crazed with sleep deprivation she got, Chelsea didn't believe for a minute that Lori would actually hurt her. So why had she just stood there and let herself get stuffed? An odd thought began to form in Chelsea's mind at that moment but was unable to make sense of it when her phone went off. It was work, wondering why she was currently fifteen minutes late. She was forced to let the thought remain unexplained and grabbed the first clean thing she could find before running out the door.

The morning drudgery, and the knowledge that she would be working through lunch, was merely icing on the cake to the situation that Chelsea found herself in. What was she going to do about Lori? There was nothing in her past experiences that gave her any insight on what the appropriate response was. Should she pretend it never happened? That seemed like the most sensible idea but was it really a healthy one? There was still that strange idea floating around in her head about the entire situation that made her feel as though ignoring the whole thing wasn't a good idea. She'd have to confront Lori about it but what was she going to say? It wasn't exactly a bad thing that happened. As Chelsea worked through the morning she kept running the events in her head. It was a spur of the moment act that caused her to try and stop Lori and with time separating her from the event she was starting to second guess her actions. She really did need to get Lori to rest after all. Lori would have burned herself out or burned the apartment down at the rate she was going. It was a drastic move on Chelsea's part but it did get her to stop didn't it? It also managed to do some damage to Chelsea's waist line as well. When she thought about that Chelsea felt that thought surge up in her head again and the image of Lori rampantly packing her snout full of treats to get her to move kept coming back clear as a bell.

“What's up Chelsea? Never seen you so distracted at lunch.”

“Wuh?” Chelsea was suddenly dragged from her thoughts by the appearance of someone at her desk. She looked up to see the entrance to her cubicle filled by Kate, Chelsea's co-worker and friend.

It was hard not to notice Kate whenever she was in a room. One might try and explain this by pointing to her personality or her charm. While those were certainly there the main thing that drew attention to her was the color of her fur. Kate's fur was a mixture of black with purple highlights around her cheeks and eyes. The black hair on her head was framed by purple ears that twitched softly when they noticed the vacant look on Chelsea's face. Her arms and legs were marked with stripes of purple that brought to mind an image of a tiger. Although tigers usually weren't quite so well padded.

Kate's penchant for snacking and binges that rivaled even Chelsea's most severe indulgences. This had left her with a swollen stomach that, unlike Chelsea, made no real attempt to hide. Her shirts and pants usually ended up accenting her round belly and soft thighs. Her chest was another matter as well. A pair of round, full breasts bounced gently in the bra she managed to stuff them into. Although the more Chelsea learned about Kate the more she realized that her wardrobe was built from a sense of denial about her size. The feline never dressed in a way that hid or pulled the eye away from her size. Everything she wore tried to ignore the extra weight that oozed over or bulged out of whatever she stuffed herself into. Apparently Kate had heard a theory that if you dressed in tight clothes you tended to eat less. The expanding curves the feline sported seemed to prove that more study was needed in that field.

That day she was wearing a pair of jean shorts that looked stretched across her hips and struggled valiantly to hold her stomach in check. Her torso was covered by a white top cut off at the shoulders. It wasn't the kind of thing anyone usually wore to work and Chelsea's gaping expression gave that thought away.

“You forget casual Friday again?” Kate asked, gesturing to the tight dress shirt that had been forcefully stretched across Chelsea's bloated midsection.

“I guess I forgot,” Chelsea replied.

“I don't know how you could. It's been so hot lately.” Kate replied, fanning herself with a paw.

“Oh?”

“'Oh?' She says,” Kate teased. “Chelsea you complain about the heat almost as much as I do. And you're still here during lunch. What gives?”

Chelsea sighed to herself. Kate stopped by for a chat every so often and the pair usually went out for lunch or for a drink occasionally but with Lori's recent goals she'd seen less of Kate in the past few weeks. “I got in late,” Chelsea explained.

“So? You usually just work late rather than actually skip a meal. What's going on? You sick?”

“No, I'm fine really,” Even as Chelsea said it she knew it sounded anything but sincere.

Kate grinned and pulled a chair from another cubicle over in front of Chelsea's desk and dropped into it making no attempt to tug down or adjust her shirt as it rode up her stomach.“Okay then something is up. You aren't sick so what is it? Money troubles?”

“No I'm fine. I just wanna get this work done.”

“Ah so not money troubles then. Hmmm what could it be?” Kate leaned back into her chair, tapping her chin as she tried to work out the problem that might be affecting her friend. Chelsea turned her head back to her computer screen and tried to ignore the feline trying to play detective sitting across from her.

Kate's gaze drifted over Chelsea, noting the straining buttons on her top and the way the chair creaked under that backside.“Does it have something to do with your live in baker?”

“No!” Chelsea replied.

“Oh so that's it. Trouble in paradise?”

Chelsea's cheeks reddened. Kate had always thought the chipmunk had hit the jackpot when it came to roommate's. She'd have given anything to have someone as crazy about baking as Lori living with her and said as much anytime Chelsea brought snacks in to share.

“So what happened then? She so busy at work she doesn't have time to cook at home?”

Chelsea's head dropped down, almost bumping into her straining chest, and sighed. “You aren't gonna let this go are you?”

“Come on Chelsea. You know I hate to see you upset. Tell me what's going on.”

So Chelsea told her about Lori's plans to gain weight to make herself appear more professional and the invitation to PastryMania which led Lori to go crazy with pastries which culminated in the pair of them being left passed out on the kitchen floor.

“So that explains why you've been coming in with so many snacks lately,” Kate chuckled. “I thought maybe Lori gave you a key to the bakery.”

“Come on Kate,” Chelsea moaned. “No more jokes. What am I gonna do about it?”

“Do about what?” Kate asked.

“About Lori! I mean last night was..I mean...How do I.”

“There's not much you can do really.” Kate said with a shrug. “She's the one that went crazy after all.”

Chelsea bridled at that. “She didn't 'go crazy' Kate. She was just overtired and frantic. You know how Lori gets when she gets her mind set on something. But what can I do? It's not like I can avoid her. She lives with me.”

“Like I said Chelsea. You don't have to do anything. She's the one that took things too far.”

“I could have stopped her.” Chelsea said, not buying the excuse. “I could have turned away or ran off or something.”

“Yeah but when have you ever turned down free food?” Kate replied. “Look, there's no sense beating yourself up about it. Let's go get something to eat.”

“But I've got to catch up-” Chelsea started but stopped when Kate leaned over the desk and turned her monitor off.

“You always say that Chelsea. Come on, it's Friday. Let's go get some lunch and you can relax. We'll think of something for you to say to Lori and make things all better. But I still think if anyone is gonna make the first move its gotta be her.”

Chelsea was about to resist, citing her need to finish up her work before the end of the day but the growl in her stomach made the decision for her. “Alright fine. But we'll bring the food back here.”

“Whatever you say,” Kate laughed.

After lunch, which ended up with them staying in a gourmet burger shop that Kate had found on one of her lunch time excursions, the pair came back to Chelsea's cubicle. Over a burger with blue cheese and a fried egg Chelsea still hadn't managed to find a solution to her problem. Kate suggested just trying to get it over with. Lori and Chelsea were friends and roommates and although Kate lived alone and preferred her solitude she understood the value Chelsea placed on her friendship with Lori. The best solution, so far as she could see, was to just get it over with and try to get past the odd event and get on with their lives. Chelsea had problems with this idea since she was worried about the effect it might have on Lori. She had become worried that the attack, for lack of a better word, she'd orchestrated against Chelsea would cause her to either drop out of the competition or make her second guess herself when it came to baking.

These thoughts were bouncing around in her head with such intensity that she almost missed the large white box sitting on her desk.

“Expecting something?” Kate asked as Chelsea looked it over.

“Nope,” The chipmunk replied. The box was made of clean white cardboard wrapped in white ribbon and topped with an intricate bow. It was the kind of box that would be used to ship a delivery of baked goods. Chelsea noticed a small card sitting on the top of it and it finally clicked as to where the box had come from. The card simply read 'sorry!' In Lori's handwriting.

“Well at least its legible this time,”

“What?” Kate asked, looking from the box to Chelsea when she heard her mumble to herself.

“Nothing, nothing. It's from Lori,”

Kate gave Chelsea a smug grin. “See? I told you that she was going to make the first move. This is clearly a token to show you how sorry she truly is for... Feeding you I guess?”

“It wasn't as simple as that,” Chelsea grumbled in reply. Despite how silly it all seemed now it still really felt like something odd had transpired between her and Lori. There was still that odd feeling or thought rolling around in her mind that she couldn't quite place.

“Whatever. Let's open it!” Kate said with a glint in her eye.

“Maybe we should wait till later,” Chelsea said.

Kate made an expression that would have looked at home on a stabbing victim“What?!” She almost shrieked. “Look at this! The bow! The note! It's from Lori! We are opening this right now!”

“But we're at work Kate,” Chelsea reasoned. “Whatever it is you think we're going to be able to eat it discreetly?”

“I Don't care if the CEO drives through the wall in a bus I'm eating whatever is in that box! It's the size of a sheet cake!”

Chelsea put her paws on the sides of the box, ready to tug it out of Kate's reach at a moments notice. Was there something in the water? Why was she suddenly getting in between people and baked goods? “Look, if we open this now we'll have to sneak bites of whatever it is. And what if someone wants some? I've given out too many samples of Lori's work to think that no one is gonna want to try this.”

“Alright,” Kate sighed. “You're right. Stash it away somewhere and lets dig into it after work.”

“Oh,” Chelsea said, the idea of going back home with this expression of forgiveness with Kate along for the ride might not be the best idea. Despite the token Chelsea still felt that maybe some time away from Lori might be a good idea. “Can we do it at your place?”

“Sure! Why are your paws wet?” Kate asked. Chelsea looked down to see that water was indeed dripping from both paws.

“It's from the box,” She said, “It must need to be refrigerated.”

“Well then that settles it! We have to eat it now!”

“We can just stick it in the fridge in the break room dummy,” Chelsea said as she lifted the box off the table. Whatever it was it was much heavier than it looked. “It's a a dessert not a bomb.”

Kate stared in shock as Chelsea headed for the break room at the far end of the office“Are you nuts?! That box won't last ten seconds in there! It'll be torn apart and we'll be left with the crumbs.”

“Well what else can we do with it? I already said we aren't going to eat it at work.” Chelsea was starting to feel exasperated. She was just thankful that they'd gotten back from lunch before everyone else and could have this ridiculous argument without drawing any attention.

“Then I'll take it to my place.” Kate said, “I live just around the corner. I can drop it off there and be back before anyone knows I'm gone. And better still before anyone knows it was even here in the first place.”

Chelsea was just about to hand the box to Kate when she caught the look on the felines snout and pulled the box away. “I'm going to go with you.”

“What? You don't trust me?”

“If you were me and I were you would you hand the box over?”

“Fine!” Kate threw her paws in the air, “We'll take it to my place. But come on let's hurry! That thing is gonna melt and this place has AC. The sooner it's safe the better.”

With the box held in front of her like a crown jewel on a pillow, Chelsea trailed after Kate through the front door and down the street. They could already tell that it was going to only get warmer as the day went on. The humidity was rising fast and the pair of them were feeling sticky and overheated by the time they made the short trip from their work to Kate's apartment.

“Oh my god!” Chelsea exclaimed as she stepped into Kate's front hall. “Why is it so hot?!”

“Sorry,” Kate said, ushering the chipmunk inside and closing the door. “My AC's been broken for weeks. I haven't gotten around to getting it fixed.” If the street outside was going to be unbearable by the evening then Kate's place was going to be a nightmare. Already Chelsea felt like the air inside the apartment was trying to drive her into the floor.

“Let's just get this thing squared away and then get back to work.” Chelsea grunted, wishing she could undo some of the buttons on her shirt but wasn't able to because of the cargo she carried.

“Right, sure thing,” Kate said. Already the cat was at the fridge, shifting things around and putting condiments and containers on the kitchen table to make room.

“Will it fit?” Chelsea asked while Kate played fridge Tetris. She'd set the box down on the table and looked frantically from the box to the cat's tail as it swished and swirled in front of the fridge.

“It's not the first time I've had to fit something big in here.. It'll fit. Here,” Kate handed Chelsea a large pitcher of lemonade. “Pour us a couple glasses. I'm about to pass out.”

Chelsea quickly fixed the drinks while Kate managed to create a large enough gap in the fridge to accept the box. “Alright then,” Chelsea said, handing Kate her drink before taking a sip of her own. The ice cold beverage making her shiver. “Get it in there.”

“Right right,” Kate said around the rim of her glass. “But, don't you think we should at least take a look at it? I'm dying to see what she cooked up for you.”

“No, we need to get back to work,” Chelsea said with more conviction than she felt. In truth, she was tired and hot and her curiosity was getting the better of her work ethic.

“And we will.” Kate replied. “But why not take a quick peak?”

Chelsea turned from her friend to the box sitting on the table. It couldn't hurt to take a look could it? After all, Lori had made it as an apology. What if she called or texted Chelsea asking about it? The last thing she wanted to do was lie to Lori about checking it out.

Chelsea drained her glass of lemonade. “Alright, you win. Let's check this out. You got-” Chelsea stopped when she noticed that Kate was already holding a pair of scissors. A look of pure lust on the feline's face.

“you're terrible.” Chelsea said as she cut the ribbon off the box and opened it up.

When Kate was little her parents would always have movie nights on Fridays. They would invite over a few friends, order take out and relax at the end of a long week. Not wanting to leave Kate out, her parents would usually rent a movie for her and her friends. She'd watched the movie in the basement and had a great time with her friends but she was always curious about what her parents watched. She knew they were movies that weren't considered appropriate for children. Her mothers said as much whenever she tried to sneak upstairs and see what they were watching. But now and again she would make it to the top of the stairs and peek out through the basement door and catch sight of what was on the television. Usually it was just furs talking or worse, kissing. Once though, she caught sight of something far more interesting. It was a scene of three furs dressed in uniforms standing over a large golden box. One of them opened up the lid and stared down inside. A look of amazement on the furs face as he proclaimed 'it's beautiful!' shortly before whatever was in the box melted his face off.

Kate thought that the face that actor pulled shortly before the wrath of god killed him was similar to the face that Chelsea made when she looked down into the box on the kitchen table.

Chelsea had only a passing knowledge of baking as a result of living with Lori. She knew the names of some of the techniques used when creating dishes but the thing she knew the best was names of actual dishes. What was inside seemed to be a mixture of two desserts she would never have thought could be combined. The box was indeed large enough to fit a sheet cake and the dessert matched those proportions perfectly. Only it wasn't a sheet cake.

The outer layer of the dessert was a wall of profiteroles four high and three thick. Each one looked to be filled with pastry cream and set together with a sugary glaze and interspersed with chocolate covered strawberries. The word croquembouche came to mind, a French dessert usually meant for weddings. The dessert was finicky at the best of times yet Lori had not only pulled it off but had fortified the central dessert with it. The other item looked like a cake covered with white icing striped with chocolate syrup.

“Woah,” Kate whispered when she caught sight of the contents. “This...This is amazing.”

“I know,” Chelsea replied, licking her lips hungrily. “But, but we shouldn't. We have to get back to work.”

“We'll call in sick.” Kate said. “We both went to the same place. Tell 'em we got food poisoning or something. Come on! Look at this!

Chelsea stared down at the decadent looking portmanteau of pastry and tried to find a reason to go against Kate's idea. Whatever work ethic she had was no match for Lori's cooking skills. “Make the call,” She said. “I'll get the plates.”

While Kate left the room and called their office Chelsea set out two large plates and grabbed a knife from the drawer. She paused for a moment, wiping her brow like a surgeon making an incision and trying to figure out how she was going to attack such a monster of a dessert before simply slicing into the side of it. Pastry cream and chocolate ooze from those overstuffed profiteroles as she lifted a slice up and set it onto the plate. Only when she set it down did she realize that the cake wasn't actually a cake.

“No. She didn't.” Chelsea gasped, unable to believe what she was seeing.

“She didn't what?” Kate asked as she came back into the room and caught sight of what they had both assumed was a cake. The second half of the dessert was in fact mille-feuille, a dessert made up of layers of pastry and cream. Normally the dessert had three layers of thick pastry cream. This one sported nine complete layers. Chelsea couldn't even fathom how much time and effort this took. How much preparation and expertise went into not only creating two complicated and time consuming dishes but also merging the two together. The thought of Lori slaving over the dessert just to offer up as a sign of apology to Chelsea made the chipmunk stifle back a sob. She staggered back and plopped down into a chair.

Kate finally tore her eyes away from the dessert long enough to look at Chelsea“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Chelsea replied. “It's just really hot in here.”

“Well a slice of this will cool you down.” Kate said, handing the plate to Chelsea while she cut her own slice.

Without thinking, Chelsea picked up one of the profiteroles and began to chew. The treat burst on her tongue, letting its contents flood her snout and send a wave of flavors cascading around her muzzle. Tears began to flow down her cheeks as she licked her lips clean.

“It's so gooood!” she wailed once she'd recovered enough to speak. Kate was already moaning in agreement as she bit into the mille-feuille. They sat for a moment, just gasping and panting in pure pleasure and delight at such an intensely delicious and rich dessert. It not only succeeded in creating toe curling, tail wagging pleasure, it also managed to do the unthinkable and cause the pair of them to slow down. The richness of the cream and pastry forced them to keep a slow but deliberate pace while they ate. Eventually, the first slice was gone and Chelsea leaned back in her chair, licking her fork and then her plate clean while Kate stifled a thick belch.

“Another?” Kate grunted, looking over at the box, they'd barely made a dent in the dessert.

“More!” Chelsea panted, holding her plate out for the cat to fill which she did with enthusiasm.

The second slice was just as delicious, if not more so simply because they both knew what they were going to experience. The flavors were so complex that each bite brought new sensations. The pastry between layers of cream was still crispy and the profiteroles managed to keep from getting soggy. Every skill needed by a master baker was on display and the pair writhed and moaned in ecstasy as they stuffed themselves. Chelsea didn't even notice as one of the buttons on her shirt popped off once she dug into her third slice. Kate ignored the groan of her pants as she leaned forward in her seat to grab another slice. Her ears merely twitched when she heard the button of her shorts snap off, letting that purple belly roll out onto her thighs. She didn't question why she suddenly felt like she could shovel in another few slices and set her plate on her stomach.

By the fourth slice Chelsea's top had burst off completely and she sighed in blessed relief. She tugged her chair closer to the table, that belly wobbling and bouncing as she tugged and dragged herself and the chair closer to her dessert. Both snouts were mess of cream and chocolate. Their lust for food dominating their minds. They didn't care how many shirts their ruined or how wide they got. The could feel their stomachs groaning and gurgling in response to that onslaught of fattening food but the flavors present pushed all other concerns out of their minds. Kate licked her snout clean before going in for a sixth slice while Chelsea took a moment to recover before tackling her seventh. The chipmunks stomach packed with more sweets and cream than anything Lori had tried to stuff her with the night before.

A few cream scented burps were the only communication the pair made as they made pigs of themselves over that Frankenstein'd delight. Chelsea's pants were starting to groan and strain as she leaned forward to shovel more into her snout. Her belly wider than Kate's and dominating more of her lap. She let out a grunt as the sides of her pants began to rip and tear when she got to her eighth slice. Grey and white furred flesh oozing out of the tears which Chelsea was grateful for. The room was still stifling hot and it seemed that only more dessert would lessen the terrible humidity that was starting to turn the dessert into a runny mess.

The realization that they might lose the dessert to the heat seemed to spur the pair on even more. The shorts Kate wore were now painted across her backside but still the feline carried on, reaching her fork into the box and tearing off chunks of what remained. Chelsea soon slid in beside her and the pair were hip to hip, love handle to love handle, as they stuffed their cheeks and bellies directly from the box.

Eventually, sadly, horribly, the pleasure had to end. The lat few bites and forkfuls disappeared into those straining, swollen bellies and the pair fell back into their chairs, paws resting on bloated bellies and looks of pure, piggish joy plastered on their faces.

“What...” Chelsea started, panting softly. It took her a minute before she could start her sentence again. “What...time is it?”

Kate groaned softly, wanting desperately to lay on her couch and digest and swelter in peace but the immense weight of cream and pastry in her belly left her helpless as a beached whale. “No idea,” She burped. “I think..maybe...three?”

“We've...we've been eating for two hours?” Chelsea tried to gasp but there wasn't enough energy left in her body for that herculean task. “How?”

“Dunno,” Kate replied. “Just..did? I think? Oh..I'm gonna explode.” She groaned heavily, paws sinking into the swollen mass of her stomach, trying to knead and quell that gurgling monster of a gut.

“Mph, I gotta...lay down.” Chelsea said, hoisting herself from her chair after several failed attempts. Her paws were wrapped under her stomach, holding it up in front of her as she waddled like a goose out of the kitchen and onto Kate's couch. The furniture groaned as she plopped down on it, her rolling and churning heavily. She lay there, sweating and sticky, completely content with herself. She'd never known herself to eat so much, to put away so much food. It was like something possessed her. Some kind of demon of butter and sugar and caramel glaze.

She didn't know how long she lay there. She was vaguely away of the sounds of Kate grunting as she hauled her own wobbly purple burden to her bedroom to sleep off the worst of their gorging session. The sound of a phone ringing brought Chelsea back to reality and she slapped her sticky paw down on the floor beside the couch, grabbing hold of the phone she'd left there and lifted it up over her head. There was a text message from Lori on it.

“How are you?” It read.

“Good.” Chelsea replied. There was silence for a moment before the phone booped and a new message popped up.

Boop “Did you get my gift?”

Boop “Yeah. It was amazing. Incredibly. How did you do it?”

Boop “Well actually, it came to me in a dream. Guess I really did need to sleep after all huh?”

Boop “I guess so.:”

Boop “Listen. I'm really sorry about last night. I don't know what came over me. You were right. I was taking things too far.”

Boop “It's okay.”

Boop “It's not okay. I shouldn't have gotten so out of control. I'm lucky to have a friend like you to watch out for me.”

Chelsea looked down at the inflated dome of her stomach. Her breasts had almost been pushed out of her bra and she wondered about how she was going to get home without being arrested for indecent exposure.

Boop “I'm just glad you're feeling better. But that dessert was amazing. Kate and I loved it.”

Boop “Oh you shared it with Kate?”

Boop “Well she saw it on my desk. I didn't have much of a choice. Besides. I would have exploded if I ate all of it by myself.”

Boop “You both ate all of it?!”

Boop “It was so good. We couldn't help ourselves.”

Boop “But that was like 12 cups of pastry cream each in the mille-feuille alone!

Boop “It's not my fault you cook so good! We can't compete with your skills!”

Boop “Well just try to rest. Don't go into a coma or anything. You gonna be home tonight? I've got a few more recipes I wanna try out.”

Chelsea let out a soft burp and tried to summon the strength to get up. The only energy her body seemed willing to exert was wiping the smears of cream and chocolate from the phone screen so she could see her texts.

Boop “I think I'll be home tomorrow. Gonna need to sleep this off.”

Boop “Well have a good night then. Take care.”

Boop “You too.”

Chelsea let the phone fall out of her paw at the point. It bounced off her stomach and slid down between her belly and the couch, lost between pudge and cushion. Chelsea thought about the recipe she'd eaten. If Lori cooked that then she'd win PastryMania for sure. But then, the contest wasn't for weeks and Lori wouldn't be satisfied with her recipe was it was. She'd need to improve it and make it bigger, better, more delicious than ever.

And of course, she would need someone to test it.

“And that challenge,” Chelsea mumbled, patting her belly as she drifted off to sleep. “Is one I can accept.”

It took Chelsea a few tries to get off of Kate's couch when she finally recovered from her food coma. Having stuffed herself with an unknown amount of butter and sugar was certainly a good reason for her difficulty. Another was the lack of AC in Kate's apartment which left the sweat soaked chipmunk struggling to hoist herself up from under that oppressive heat. The heat had sapped her energy from her, leaving her a groggy, sticky, mess. She could hear the sound of what seemed to Chelsea to be Kate attempting to cut down an old growth forest in her room. She left the feline to her slumber, plucked her work shoes and purse from the front hall, and stumbled out onto the street. Or at least she would have, if she hadn't caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror just beside the door. Normally, Chelsea would never have left Kate's place, or any building for that matter, in her current situation. Her snout was still covered in cake and crumbs. Her chest was smeared with cream and chocolate. Whatever buttons were left on her shirt had been blown off and the sides of her stained shirt now framed a swollen curve of belly flesh that jostled heavily when she moved. Even her bra had become exposed from the build up of so much dessert struggling for room in her expanded stomach.

Chelsea might have been horrified at how far she'd allowed herself to fall in her quest to stuff herself with the world class treats that Lori prepared had she still been in possession of her all her senses. A mixture of fatigue, stomach complaints and heat exhaustion caused blunted Chelsea's faculties enough to cause to see only the issue of being under-dressed rather than the larger picture of her dive towards some goal that was shrouded in weight gain and lack of self control. She looked back over her shoulder to where the sound of Kate snoring was coming from. There was only so much strength left in her legs and she wasn't about to waste that precious stamina by routing through Kate's closet for something to replace her ruined shirt. Instead, she grabbed a coat off a peg by the door, wrapped it around herself, and wandered out into the street.

It was mid afternoon when Chelsea left Kate and that feast behind and made her way home. She got a few strange looks from furs wondering why she was wearing a raincoat on such a warm day. Had Chelsea spent more time looking for something to cover herself up she might have chosen something that breathed better. Already she could feel the heat building up under the coat like a sauna. Still she pressed on, ignoring the heat and just putting one foot in front of the other. She was happy, despite the heat, that no one was able to see the mess she'd made of herself. Things took a desperate turn when she walked passed the entrance to her work. The idea of being identified by someone was a terror that managed to penetrate her exhausted and food addled mind. Taking an alternate route around her work was out of the question. There was no way she was going to take more time than was necessary to get home. Her only option was to tug her coat closer and hope no one spotted her. As she got closer she could make out a few furs that worked on her floor. The pair were chatting beside the front of the building, forcing Chelsea to cross the street. This turned out to be a mistake as the act of suddenly stepping out into the street caused a car to screech to a halt and lay on the horn ensuring everyone in the vicinity was now staring at the raincoat clad figure rushing across the road.

“Chelsea?” a voice called to the now red faced chipmunk who tugged the hood of the rain coat over her head and stumbled down the sidewalk, wishing that lightning would strike her down and end it all.

When Chelsea finally made it home she didn't so much open the front door and enter the apartment as surge through it, bringing along a bubble of heat that lifted from her like steam when she yanked off the rain coat and tossed the vile thing onto the floor.

“Hello?” Chelsea heard Lori call from the kitchen. Chelsea dropped her shoes and bag beside the coat by way of a reply and staggered down the hall towards the living room. Lori stuck her head out from the kitchen to watch her roommate tip over the back of the couch and land face down into the cushions with enough exhausted weight to make the frame groan.

“Holy..” Lori gasped when she caught sight of Chelsea's sweat soaked back. “Are you alright.”

“Water,” Chelsea mumbled from the depths of the couch cushions. “AC and water.”

“What happened?” Lori called from the kitchen.

Chelsea slowly rolled herself onto her side, contemplated heading for a cold shower but knew she would never make it. “I had to make it home after that dessert. Barely made it.”

“I can see that,” Lori replied, still in the kitchen. How long did it take to get a glass of water? Chelsea wondered.

“Why didn't you take a taxi?”

The groan from the couch told Lori that in the chipmunks current state the idea had never crossed her mind.

“I just wanted to get home,” She moaned, still burying her face into the cushions.

“Here,” Lori said from behind the couch. Chelsea finally rolled over and looked up at her roommate who was holding a large mug. Lori was wearing her chef's jacket which was heavily stained with bits of icing and dough. She'd lost that crazed, sleep deprived look in her eyes and instead had an expression of concern at how much her friend had eaten and pride because it had been her food that had caused such excess. Chelsea took the drink gratefully and pushed it to her snout. A sudden mixture of flavors landed on Chelsea's tongue with such surprise that she almost dropped the glass.

“I figured why not try out a few drinks as well?” Lori said, smiling when she saw Chelsea's stunned expression. The drink was some kind of milkshake, only thicker than anything that the chipmunk had ever tasted. The was almost like cake batter and cookie dough mixed together and topped with ice cream. Chelsea took another long drink from the glass, feeling that gloriously frosty beverage rejuvenating her to the point that her fur began to fluff up in response to the chill.

“You think you could win with this?” Chelsea asked after half the glass was empty and she'd regained some of her composure.

“Well, probably not,” Lori admitted. “But it's the kind of thing I could pitch to my boss at the bakery. There's all sorts of ideas that are coming out of my testing that I can use in other areas.”

“You've been busy then?” Chelsea said worriedly. She leaned up out of the couch enough to peer over the back and look into the kitchen. There were comparatively fewer treats on the table than the day before.

“Don't worry,” Lori said. “I've scaled back my focus a bit. I keep all my ideas in note form now.” Lori pulled a notebook out of her pocket. “Got tons of great ideas in here I can try out and tinker with. No more wasting supplies and time on ideas that might not make the cut.”

Chelsea wasn't quite sure how she felt about the last part. It was nice to know Lori was taking a more practical approach to the contest but was it worth the lack of baked goods?

“Don't worry,” Lori chuckled. “There'll be plenty for you to test. I wouldn't want you to go without.” She winked and headed back into the kitchen. Leaving Chelsea with her drink. It was quite the change from the crazed baker that Chelsea had dealt with the day before.

“I'm glad you're taking things a little easier now,” Chelsea said, finishing off the rest of the dessert shake.

“Yeah me too. I really have to apologize again,” Lori called from the kitchen. “I don't know what came over me.”

“Well it's out of your system,” Chelsea said, feeling that familiar sensation that crept up from deep inside whenever she thought about an over abundance of food. “Whatever it was.”

“I hope so,” Lori said, appearing once more behind the couch with a plate of what looked like mini pies. “But now it's time for dinner.”

“Those are pies,” Chelsea said just as the scent of gravy and beef hit her nostrils.

“Beef pies silly.” Lori chuckled, stepping around the couch and setting the plate of half a dozen pies on the coffee table. “Like you said, we can't live on desserts alone.”

“Did I say that?” Chelsea answered, wiping shake from her muzzle with one paw while she balanced the empty but still cold mug on her stomach with the other. The mug sank gently into the soft mound of blubber that was her stomach. “Doesn't sound like me.”

Lori just smiled at the still exhausted chipmunk and handed her one of the pies. They were warm to the touch and filled her paw out like one of the large doughnuts that usually came out of Lori's oven. Chelsea had only tried a few of Lori's non dessert foods and they had tasted great although nowhere near the quality of her desserts.

“I had a little bit of extra crust left over so I made them up. It's just beef and veggies with gravy. Not hard to mess up.” Lori explained when she noticed Chelsea's look over having to eat a non dessert item.

“The way you talk you'd think I'd never eaten anything you cooked before,” Chelsea said, stuffing half the pie into her snout and chomping down. The insides were warm enough to enhance the flavor but not so as to burn her tongue. The gravy held everything together and Chelsea found herself polishing off the mini pie in a few more bites before pulling herself upright and reaching for another. Her stomach compressing and wobbling on her plump thighs as she eagerly groped for more.

“I doubt anyone could think that,” Lori laughed, watching Chelsea enjoying those treats.

“What do you mean?” Chelsea asked, her cheeks stuffed with pastry.

Lori gave her stomach a pat. The curve of it was evident even under her chefs jacket.“Well if I enjoy my sweets then you REALLY enjoy 'em,”

Chelsea swallowed and finally looked down at her stomach. Her shirt had fallen off or been taken off at some point during her collapse on the couch. Leaving topless save for the bra struggling to hold back that avalanche of breast flesh. Those round mounds of mammary flab rested gently upon a stomach that had spent the past few days being packed with desserts and pastries and was showing the full effect of so much extra snacking. Chelsea licked gravy from her fingers and felt a mixture of pride and low level worry. She really was starting to pack on the pounds. Was she going too far?

“I really have packed it on haven't I?” She said, sinking a plump finger into the generous roll of flab that ringed her waist.

“Ah it looks fine,” Lori said as she made her way back to the kitchen. “You've never looked lovelier.”

Chelsea smirked at that. She was dripping with sweat, her hair was a mess, and her fur was sticky with syrup and cream. “That's nice of you to say. At this rate I'll need to go shopping for a new wardrobe.”

“You were planning on doing that anyway right?” Lori asked, bringing in another mug of what was rapidly becoming Chelsea's new favorite drink. The chipmunk pressed the new concoction to her lips and chugged it down like a fur dying of thirst. Once more that cool drink banished away any thoughts of worry about her weight and wardrobe. There was only the pleasure of sating her hunger and keeping herself from overheating.

“Good point,” Chelsea said finally after failing to hold back a burp. Her cheeks burned red while Lori just laughed. “So why don't you finish those off and try out a few of my other treats? I've been trying to perfect some doughnut ideas. I could use your input.”

“Sure,” Chelsea answered. She was already pushing another mini pie into her cheeks between sips of her shake. Already the night seemed to be getting better and better.

Once the last of the pies had been consumed Chelsea settled back into the couch, paws resting on her sated belly, rubbing it tenderly. She worked her paws into her expanded stomach, fluffing and rubbing her fur up while she felt just how far her paws could sink into that white mound of pastry dough. Meanwhile, Lori cleared away the now empty plate and two mugs from the table, replacing them with three plates that each contained half a dozen doughnuts.

Chelsea looked on at the treats with a small twinge of worry. “I thought you were scaling back on the batch size?”

“I am,” Lori said. “I managed to get my batches under a dozen each. Before I was making almost two dozen. I gave most of it away to the neighbors.” She chuckled, “I think we could rent a marching band on a Sunday night and no one would bat an eye at this point. Anyway.” Lori pointed to the first plate that sate squarely in front of Chelsea. The doughnuts on display looked to be chocolate with a thick, dark, chocolate glaze. Each one was topped with what looked like chunks of fudge brownie.

“I call these void doughnuts,” Lori explained. “Because they fill the void in your stomach.”

Chelsea felt as though she should say something at that point. “Clever,” was all that she managed to come up with.

“These ones,” Lori went on, ignoring Chelsea's comment. She pointed to the plate on the right of the chocolate doughnuts. They were the polar opposite of the previous batch. They were white to start with, each one looked to be coated in a thick whip cream and topped with strawberries and slices of kiwi. “I wanted to try something different so I made a kind of Eton mess and pavlova kind of thing.”

“Eton...pav...what?” Chelsea asked. The chipmunk had simple tastes when it came to desserts. She'd been brought up on cakes, pies and cookies. The idea of things like the extravagant dessert that Lori had apologized with before had floored her. Now she was being treated to the creativity of someone that fully understood the nuances of baking.

“It's a meringue mixed with whip cream and topped with fruit. Getting the entire thing to stick together was a bit of a trick so I used rice flour to make it all kind of stick together. Now the third batch.” Lori said, gesturing to the furthest plate from where she stood. “Is one I think you'll like the most.”

Chelsea's eyes drifted to the final batch and stared. The plate was filled with what looked like six black hockey pucks. Upon closer inspection they were a doughnut that was encased with a chocolate cookie crumble. “What's in them?” Chelsea asked.

“It's a surprise,” Lori said, sitting down beside Chelsea and opening up a notebook. “Now you just have to eat and tell me what you think.”

Chelsea looked from the plate back to Lori. The ferret was already writing down notes. Presumably jotting down Chelsea's initial reaction to each type of doughnut.

“So just dig in?” It seemed a little too simple to Chelsea.

“Yup, just be sure to tell me what you think.”

“Well alright then,” Chelsea replied, eagerly reaching for one of the double chocolate doughnuts in front of her.

The doughnut was heavier than it looked. A densely packed feast in its own right, the doughnut was already smearing her fingers with chocolate and fudge. Clearly it wasn't the kind of treat you'd eat without either napkins or no sense of decorum. “They're a little messy,” Chelsea said, licking her fingers as she rolled the doughnut from paw to paw.

“Do you see that as a problem?” Lori asked, scribbling furiously.

“I don't know. It depends I guess. It makes it feel even more like a guilty pleasure. It certainly isn't something I'd order with other furs around. I mean, I would, but I don't know about how others would feel about it.”

“Alright, good to know,” Lori replied. “Now how does it taste?”

Chelsea brought the doughnut to her snout, giving Lori a smile before biting into it. The richness of the doughnut was tough for Chelsea to comprehend. Doughnuts were usually a lighter kind of treat for her. Even the larger ones Lori brought home for the bakery didn't compare to the density of the treat she was currently chewing. The fudge and chocolate brownie chunks coated her muzzle with a layer of thick, sticky sugar that made it tough to open her muzzle. The pastry part of the doughnut was lost in the mess of toppings, having absorbed a great deal of the fudge around it and turning it into a delectable paste that melted on her tongue.

“mhomh,” Chelsea managed to say through a wall of doughnut and fudge. Her jaws soon grew tired from the effort of chewing but she dutifully stuffed the rest of the treat into her snout. The flavors of chocolate weren't as overpowering as she had thought they'd be. She polished off the first doughnut slower than any other doughnut she'd ever eaten but found herself enjoying it all the more. The slow speed meant she was able to savor it more. She picked up on the subtle mixture of cocoa and sugars that brought the doughnut above any other standard store bought fare.

“So is it good?” Lori asked, noting everything about the way Chelsea was handling the treat in her muzzle.

Chelsea managed a thumbs up before reaching for another doughnut but stopped short.

“Something wrong?” Lori asked.

“Mm,” Chelsea muttered, still trying to get her tongue unstuck from the roof of her mouth. “I think...mmm.. need something to drink to wash it mpmm...down.”

Lori slapped her forehead at that. “Ah, of course. That's why I'd been experimenting with those dessert shakes in the first place. Wait right there.” Lori sprang from the couch and ran back into the kitchen. Chelsea could hear the sounds of the blender working up another one of those rich shakes. Chelsea wasn't sure how something as rich as that doughnut would pair with a shake filled with cookie dough and brownie batter but Lori was the baker after all. Despite her worries Chelsea began working on the next doughnut, breaking it into smaller, more manageable chunks.

“Aw you could have waited,” Lori grumbled as she sat back down, setting the shake down in front of Chelsea.

“Mmmph, Sorry,” Chelsea said, taking the shake and sipping from it. The shake helped wash the smaller pieces down more easily and she was soon through the second one without much trouble.

“They work better in smaller bits,” She explained. By now Chelsea's paws and cheeks were a mess of fudge and bits of brownie but she was enjoying herself far more. The rumble of hunger was gone now, replaced with the content gurgles of a stomach getting far more than it really should be getting but loving it anyway.

“Hmm, so maybe these ones should go mini?” Lori wondered, tapping her chin with the pen while Chelsea dismantled her third doughnut.

“It'd make eating them a whole lot easier that's for sure.”

“So much good stuff,” Lori said to herself as she began to re write the doughnut recipe in the margin of the page. “Keep going,”

Chelsea didn't need to be told twice and was quickly tearing into her fourth with gusto. The plate by now was a small lake of fudge and icing. Dribbles of chocolate created a path from the plate, to the coffee table, up Chelsea's stomach and chest and finally into her snout. This was all followed by ice cream smears on her thighs that appeared whenever she took another bracing gulp from that shake.

Finally, the last of the first batch of doughnuts were completed leaving Chelsea leaning back, licking her cheeks, and trying to figure out how to get her paws clean. Lori handed her a roll of paper towel but that just served to get towel stuck to her face. Some wet wipes were produced out of Chelsea's purse (courtesy of her many trips restaurants) and she was soon able to continue. The chipmunk wasn't really sure why she had to clean herself completely at first but Lori explained about palate cleansing and keeping flavors from mixing with or ruining other batches.

When she was finally ready Chelsea leaned forward to the second batch, the meringue doughnuts. Her stomach gurgled and wobbled as she leaned over it, forcing her to let out a soft burp which she struggled to ignore as she lifted one of those fruit covered treats into her paws. At least these have fruit on them, Chelsea thought to herself. The idea of eating something other than chocolate and pure sugar was a refreshing one. She pressed the side of the doughnut to her snout and took bite.

The cream and fruit collapsed in around the meringue and rice flour doughnut within. She was forced to pull the doughnut away to arms length to finally get the doughnut to break off. The chewiness of the inner pastry mixed with the fresh and creamy flavors on the outside making Chelsea think of a picnic on a warm summer day. Without the richness of the first doughnuts she was able to push in another bite without much trouble. Under cooked doughnut was something she usually hated, the gooey texture usually making her stomach turn. This batter however, mixed with rice flour, melted in her mouth and mixed with the meringue and cream to make a muzzle filling treat that refreshed and delighted her senses.

“How do they compare?” Lori asked.

“Like night and day,” Chelsea replied, licking cream from her fingers. “They're so light and gooey. It's wild.”

“So are they better do you think?”

“In some ways,” Chelsea said, already reaching for a second. “These don't have that same richness that makes eating them more of a project. They just kind of melt away and leave you craving more.”

“You sound like a food critic,” Lori said with a chuckle.

“Well this critic gives them a thumbs up!” Chelsea said, taking a slurp from the shake before polishing off a third and fourth. By now her stomach was groaning louder. Its capacity starting to approach and Chelsea could feel the sides of her stomach stretching gently to accommodate so much sugar and cream. She rested for a moment or two, gently patting the sides of her stomach before plucking up another doughnut and stuffing it entirely into her snout, cheeks bulging and snout smearing with cream. “Mmphhhm, much easier to eat.” Chelsea said around stuffed cheeks.

“Good to know,” Lori laughed, drawing a thumbs up beside the recipe in her notebook.

With the second tray finished the only plate left was the mystery batch.

“Well?” Lori said, gesturing towards the plate. “Dig in.”

“Gimme a second,” Chelsea said, panting gently. “I just ate a dozen oversize doughnuts. I need a minute.”

“Oh that's nothing Chelsea,” Lori said, trying to goad Chelsea towards the last plate. “Think about all the other stuff you've packed away. The dessert I made for you earlier? Those pies and those shakes? Don't tell me you're gonna stop this close to the finish line.”

Chelsea's stomach gurgled heavily in response to that high calorie list. It really was quite the list of belly busting treats and pants splitting desserts. Was her gluttony really so endless that she could pout away another six of those monsters Lori had cooked up? It didn't seem possible. Surely she'd burst, or pass out or something? Yet, despite the grumblings within her stomach the sight of more doughnuts didn't make her feel queasy or worried. She wanted to try them out. Maybe that should have been some sort of warning but Chelsea didn't see it that way. As far as she was concerned the more treats she could pack away without wanting to die the better.

“I did say I'd help,” She said finally, struggling to reach over her stuffed middle but found herself unable to do so. That doughnut packed belly held her in place like a fuzzy anchor. After a few attempts she sank back into the couch, exhausted and spent. “But could you help me first?”

Lori smirked at the helpless Chelsea and reached for the plate. “Sure thing. Anything for my guinea pig.”

Chelsea's cheeks reddened at that. “I dunno about 'guinea pig'.” Chelsea said, burping suddenly as the plate of doughnuts was set down onto her stomach. Like the first batch they too seemed way heavier than they appeared. She scooped one up in her paw and the doughnut felt solid. Chelsea was sure the cookie crust on the outside would have broken apart in her paws. Instead she felt the tell tale stickiness of chocolate.

“I used fudge to bind it all together,” Lori explained.

“Makes sense,” Chelsea replied, pressing the doughnut to her lips. She bit through the outer shell. The flavor reminded her a bit of a dessert cakes she would sometimes get when she was younger (and whenever she fancied one when she was old enough to make terrible food related choices) and gave way to an inner realm of rich, creamy cheesecake. Her eyes bulged as she tasted the cheesecake locked away within and bit down deeper. Beyond the mantle of cheesecake was a core of cherries that burst out, coating her muzzle with its sweet filling. She brought her other paw up, cradling any stray crumbs of shell or cheesecake that tumbled around her cheeks, and kept chewing. The crunchy outer shell mixed perfectly with the cherries and cheesecake. The richness of it all rivaled that of void doughnuts that Lori had pressed on her first. Only now she could feel her stomach growling and gurgling at the sudden addition of dairy and cream to the already heavy concoction of sugar and pastry that was filling out her swollen belly.

“How does it taste?” Lori asked but knew she didn't need an answer. Chelsea's expression of joy at the flavor of the doughnut was enough. The ferret worked furiously to take down and note every action that Chelsea took to try and keep as little of that confection from being lost as possible. When a large chunk of it broke away and bounced into her cleavage Chelsea fished it out without thinking twice. So delicious was that brick of cookie and cheesecake that she lost any last shred of decorum and stuffed the rest of that doughnut into her snout, moaning softly.

Once the first doughnut was gone Chelsea pressed her paws into the sides of her stomach, rubbing and kneading into that bloated mass happily. Her belly had expanded into a taut sphere that rested quite comfortably on her flabby thighs. For anyone else that kind of treat on top of all the other fattening sweets they'd eaten would have been enough but not for Chelsea. She gripped the second doughnut with both paws and fed it into her snout like a sandwich.

“Does that help?” Lori asked, not caring in the least about Chelsea's sudden spiral into pure piggish gluttony.

“Mhmm,” Chelsea replied around the treat, licking cheesecake from her cheeks as she fed the second of her final course into her muzzle with all speed.

“I know it really isn't technically a doughnut,” Lori said while Chelsea chewed the last piece of her latest delight. “But I didn't want to call it a mini cake. I doubt it would pass as a doughnut in front of judges, what with the lack of pastry.”

“Doesn't bother me,” Chelsea said, cherry filling dribbling from her snout as she busily forced in the third doughnut.

On and on her feasting went. The last of the dessert shake was guzzled down and Chelsea was already working the fourth doughnut into its new home beside the rest of those treats. She ate like a chipmunk possessed. Even at her hungriest she never ate this way. At least, not with anyone elses treats. At restaurants and parties she ate what she wanted but never to this extent. It was amazing to think about the kind of power that Lori's treats had over her. Try as she might Chelsea could never resist when there were snacks around made by that ferret. Yet she didn't care. Lori's desserts just tasted all the better. Chelsea reflected briefly, between the fourth and fifth doughnut, that this was probably the best job she'd ever had. She was being paid in sweets and allowed to eat as much as she liked and it was all in the service of a friends dream. Her swollen belly and stomach aches were merely the cross she bared for being so selfless and helpful.

The fifth of those cheesecake pucks was where Chelsea finally hit the wall. As she shoveled the second half of that penultimate dessert into her cheeks her stomach let out a churning gurgle that even Lori heard. The pair stared at that furry, pastry stuffed dome while it issued out a litany of complaints against its current treatment.

“Ohhhhh,” Chelsea groaned, clutching either side of her stomach. “I don't think that last one is gonna get finished.”

Lori looked from the singular 'doughnut' on its plate, mere inches away from Chelsea's muzzle, to her friends distended stomach. A sudden feeling of guilt washed over her as she watched Chelsea writhe suddenly in gastronomic distress.

“Maybe that's enough for tonight?” Lori said worriedly.

“But.. but your notes,” Chelsea groaned. She lifted her cream and chocolate smeared paw towards the plate but those plump digits just sank back lazily into her sides. It felt like her arms and legs were pinned down with weights. It seemed her body had finally had enough for the evening.

“My notes can wait,” Lori said, taking the plate off of Chelsea's stomach. “They aren't worth you getting sick.”

“No, no I can do it,” Chelsea groaned, licking a snout that looked as though it had been dunked into a half melted bucket of ice cream. “Just...just push it to my lips.”

“Are you sure?” Lori asked, already hoisting the treat from the plate. “You don't have to.”

“Oh I do,” Chelsea groaned, opening her muzzle wide. “they're sooo good!”

“Well okay,” Lori said, pressing that last cheesecake confection into Chelsea's muzzle. Chelsea moaned as the last treat broke in half, leaving her to struggle with it in between stuffed cheeks. Lori pulled the other half away, dusting Chelsea's swollen belly with cheesecake and chocolate crumbs. It looked as though an avalanche had occurred on Chelsea's stomach, bringing down the top of a mountain with it. Laboriously, Chelsea worked that cheesecake down, taking small gulps before finally finishing off the chunk and opening her muzzle wider. Her stomach growled and churned louder. That beast of an overstretched middle begging the pair of them to stop stuffing it but it's pleas for mercy went on deaf ears. Lori pushed the last half into Chelsea's muzzle, making her moan and dig her paws into the sides of her belly to try and quell its complaints.

Lori leaned in closer, trying to get as much of the doughnut into Chelsea's muzzle without losing a crumb. Finally, amazingly, the last piece of that dessert disappeared, leaving Chelsea panting and frightened to move a single inch lest the living room be plastered with doughnuts and fur.

“So, good,” She belched, failing to cover her muzzle and leaned back further into the couch, paws barely able to knead into that groaning white mound of blubber.

“Thanks Chelsea,” Lori said as she wiped Chelsea's cheeks and snout clean with paper towel.

“Always happy to help,” Chelsea said. She was slurring her words and her eyes were half lidded. It looked like any moment the poor chipmunk was about to pass out. Lori was about to ask if Chelsea needed anything when her head rolled back and the dessert stuffed chipmunk was snoring, lost in another food coma.

While Chelsea slept Lori cleaned up the plates and as much of the couch as she could. Afterwards she scribbled down a few more notes on Chelsea's desire to eat more despite her stomachs complaints. This was the best information she could have ever hoped for. She'd thought about pushing the richness and complexity of her desserts before and now she had the input she needed to confirm what she suspected. Her skill was in putting quite a bit into something so small. She'd been able to pack each of those doughnuts with as much, if not more filling and toppings than were in most pastries of the same sizes.

But if she was going to win PastryMania she was going to need more data, much more. Chelsea seemed more committed than ever to helping Lori make this dream come true. All she had to do was keep pushing the limits of what her skills could do and feed as much as she could to Chelsea. With her input there was no telling how far she could go.

As Lori plotted and planned out the weeks leading up to PastryMania Chelsea slept soundly. Her stomach struggling with the task of digesting everything she'd crammed into it. But through all those pains and complaints Chelsea wondered sleepily what she'd get to sample next.

From then on it seemed as though something had clicked between Lori and Chelsea. The worry Chelsea had originally had for her friend and her obsession over baking had given way to an acceptance of Lori's abilities as a baker. Sure there was an initial rough patch, there always was with Lori, but after that the ferret became more grounded and focused. The following weekend Lori managed to further narrow down her batch size to three or four doughnuts, two or three pies, a quarter sized cake, or half a dozen cookies, without compromising on flavor or texture. This wasn't to say that she was slowing down her baking, far from it. With portion size firmly under control Lori was free to experiment more. The different recipe's she wanted to try out rose exponentially. One batch of cookies could be shifted into two or three different types of cookies without using any more ingredients. It was an economy of resources which served the her well.

All through the weekend Lori baked and baked. She spliced cake recipes and brownie batters to try and make thicker and richer cakes. She tripled the butter in cookie batches to make treats so moist and rich it was amazing anyone could stand or think after eating just one. Obscure recipes for pastries and even jello dishes were pulled from ancient cook books and given try. She mixed chocolate chip cookies with jelly rolls and doughnuts with phyllo pastry. Lemon meringue pies were merged with apple pies. Even the recipes that failed still yielded an immense amount of useful information. Lori learned from every burnt cookie or scorched pie crust. Every failed flavor combination taught her what limits could be pushed. She drew knowledge from doughnuts that failed to cook thoroughly and jellos that didn't set. Her pursuit of knowledge and the perfect recipe consumed not only herself but everyone else around her. Her co workers and boss had never seen anything like it. It wasn't long before Lori was being asked to do her baking at work so that other staff members could learn from her techniques. Her neighbors were entranced by the delicious smells constantly wafting down the hallway and soon the entire apartment building smelled like a bakery. There were complaints of course. Some complained that Lori's work was ruining their diets. Others were spending a fortune on treats for themselves. The smell of their apartment sent them running to find something to sate the sweet tooth Lori was forging in every mouth that resided within those walls.

And all through this. Through the endless cooking and measuring and icing and frosting and sampling and decorating, throughout it all, Chelsea ate. The weekend after the great doughnut binge saw Chelsea out buying new clothes. There were plenty of things in her wardrobe that still fit but something told her that she should prepare herself for what was to come. New tops and shirts, new pants and even a few sun dresses filled up Chelsea's wardrobe. Even while she shopped she ate, pushing icing covered balls of doughnut batter into her snout, noting down texture and consistency. The evening after she finished shopping she treated herself to a few slices of pizza before heading home to a freshly baked lava cake that Lori presented, eagerly awaiting Chelsea's report.

As the weeks passed by Chelsea was always hovering around the kitchen whenever she was home. She tasted mixes before they were baked, usually from a spatula pressed into her muzzle while she tried to watch TV, and gave an opinion. Lori wouldn't let a single thing leave the apartment to have others try unless Chelsea had tried it first. As far as Chelsea was concerned, she'd finally reached baked goods heaven. Her worries about herself and Lori were washed away in a tidal wave of custard cream.

But there was work as well as play for Chelsea. Before she left for work Lori would give her a stack of containers complete with a notebook to keep tabs on everything she ate. Throughout the day Chelsea would snack, jotting down notes on whatever she ate. By the end of the day she would have the book filled and return home to Lori who would then use whatever she found to help improve her recipes.

With each day that passed Lori's skills improved. She began to shift from merely improving flavors to improving presentation.

“No one won PastryMania with ugly looking food,” Lori explained, carefully adding a row of icing starbursts to the sides of a triple layered chocolate mousse cake.

“Makes sense,” Chelsea had replied from her position on the couch. She'd gotten used to immediately changing out of her work clothes once she got home and sat clad in a pair of old pajamas. The shirt of which was unable to cover up Chelsea's belly which poked out and rested on her thighs no matter how she sat. “Means more for me to sample,” She said with a laugh.

Lori grew more adept at shaping pastry and working with marzipan. She manipulated fondant like a master and cake decorating became second nature. She began to dream about new and unique ways to frost a cake and ways to present a tray of cookies. No longer would baked goods fly out of her kitchen in a pile. She sent her confections along with Chelsea in attractive arrangements that brought plenty of comments from Chelsea's co-workers about the amazing treats she always had with her each and every day.

Of course, the inevitable outcome of all of this was obvious. Lori's skills improved and her chances of winning PastryMania grew higher and higher and along with this Chelsea's weight skyrocketed. After a single week Chelsea found few clothes in her original wardrobe that fit her. Her swelled outwards, threatening to droop down over her waist unless she wore something to support it. As her weight increased so did her appetite which meant it took even more snacks to sate her. Which in turn caused Lori to cook more. So long as Chelsea could fit it in Lori was keen to feed her everything she could. The chipmunks body was a steadily inflating mound of pastry stuffed flab which made itself known in a variety of ways. The chairs at work become more and more uncomfortable. Chelsea's backside seemed to swell over and under the arms of her chair. One particularly hearty binge on millionaire's shortbread left her trapped in her chair over lunch.

She had just finished the last bite of one of those caramel and shortbread delights when she noticed her stomach pressing into her desk. Chelsea looked down over the curve of her chest, dusting crumbs from the upper curve of cloth covered belly flesh and noticed her stomach had stretched her shirt up over it causing her stomach to roll gently against the keyboard. Her eye's floated upwards to an email she'd been writing and watched as an infinity of e's marched across the page, driven on by the pressure of her belly.

Something like terror gripped Chelsea in that moment. She suddenly became all too aware of her size. She could feel her rump straining her skirt, dragging the material up her chunky thighs and revealing far more leg flesh than she had ever intended. She heard the daily gurgle of her stomach that noted she'd stopped filling it. Something she rarely failed to do. In that moment she felt an urgent need to get up and get away from her desk, away from the food that made her wider and drove her stuff herself. She gripped the sides of the chair and heaved and found, to her horror, that she was firmly stuck in the chair. That feeling of something similar to terror quickly became full blown panic as Chelsea realized she'd become too fat to get out of her chair. What was she going to do? Would she have to call for help? What would that entail? Would she end up having furs on either end, tugging on her and the chair to free her like a certain bear stuck in a rabbit hole? Would they have to dismantle the chair around her? What if that wasn't an option? What if they had to call the fire department? The idea of being on display as she was freed from office furniture was a fate too terrifying to contemplate.

This litany of horrifying scenario's continued on until Chelsea, in a fit to try and free herself by tearing the armrests from the chair, found a pair of levers on the sides of the chair. Her cheeks turned beet red as she squeezed both levers and gently swung the chairs arms outwards, releasing her bulk from its ergonomic prison. She sighed in relief as her stomach rolled outwards, eagerly taking up the space the chair provided. That one moment made Chelsea begin to worry. She adored the food and the increased weight was a pleasure to be sure but the question stood in her mind: how big was too big? Little did she know, that Lori wasn't about to allow Chelsea to figure that out.

When Chelsea got a cold and was forced to stay in bed Lori didn't take any time off. Instead she used an incapacitated Chelsea for the invaluable resource she was. While the piling on of such rich, fattening treats was out of the question the testing still needed to continue. Lori solved the problem by turning it to her advantage. She worked on creating hearty and filling meals, usually involving pastry, to help speed up Chelsea's convalescence. The chipmunk was in no position to protest the quality of the food. The care and patience which Lori showed during her sickness made Chelsea accept whatever meals were presented to her. While they lacked sweetness they made up for in size. More of those delectable beef pies, chicken pies and croissants and danish pastries were piled up to help eat away the flu that had laid her out flat.

“How close are you to finding that perfect recipe?” Chelsea asked after another filling meal.

“I'm almost there, I can feel it.” Lori replied, clearing away the tray she'd placed on Chelsea's stuffed belly.

“I hope so,” Chelsea said to Lori. Although when the ferret had left she placed a paw on her stomach. The roller coaster of flavors that she was on was one she never wanted to end.

Time marched on however, and the day of PastryMania was finally upon them.

The general public might have know about celebrity chefs and bakers. They may have known about the litany of television shows which pitted bakers against one another for awards and brand deals. Every would be baker might have known about the newest books published under the names of cooking show hosts and award winners. But few of those regular viewers and the thousands that purchased those books knew where that talent came from. The true bakers however, the rank and file that worked in every bakery, restaurant and cafe, knew the truth. Each and every one of those masters of their craft had started out taking a PastryMania title. It was an invite only event for those skilled enough to merit getting on stage and showing off their finely honed craft. A win at PastryMania is what got a baker attention. Some may boast of recommendations given by tire homunculus or four star reviews in trendy magazines but everyone craved to have at least one winner of PastryMania working in their kitchen.

The event was held in different location every year and this year it was only a few hours outside of town. Lori had been granted the use of her boss's van to get her and her creation to the event and Chelsea had been amazed that she'd been offered an invite.

“Of course I'm inviting you,” Lori had said, staring at her friend in disbelief. “Who else would I bring?” The big event had been a week away and Chelsea had no idea what Lori was planning on presenting.

“I dunno,” Chelsea stammered over a bowl of trifle she'd been polishing off. “I just thought your boss would want to see you win.”

“Oh she'll be there of course,” Lori waved her paw in the air. “But who else am I gonna bring along? Chelsea, I couldn't think of anyone else more deserving than you.”

That remark still made Chelsea blush when she thought about it during their trip there. They had started out bright and early on the day PastryMania was going to take place. They stopped only once to pick up breakfast, a quick pit stop at Burger Village for a few breakfast burritos, before finally arriving at their destination.

The event was being held that year at the exhibition center. A large arena which was used for county fairs, farm shows and any other big events that needed a lot of room. Chelsea couldn't imagine an event like PastryMania being held in the same place that had tractor pulls. Yet when they pulled into the parking lot Chelsea could see the large billboard outside proudly proclaiming the fair grounds as the home of PastryMania 2018.

Chelsea hadn't expected the parking lot to be so packed and dreaded the thought of having to walk all the way from the van to the entrance. It was set to be another scorcher of a day and she had concerns about her ability to handle such warm weather. She'd dressed as comfortably as she could in a loose top and shorts but that was small comfort compared to a body so well suited for the winter. To her relief Lori had gotten more information about the event and drove up towards a gated off section of the lot that was closer to the doors. She flashed a badge to security who opened the gate and let them pull in.

“There's an open one!” Chelsea almost squealed in delight at seeing an empty spot so close to the side entrance where a number of other furs Chelsea assumed were bakers were entering in. Their arms loaded down with boxes and folding chairs.

“No, ours is down here,” Lori explained. Chelsea watched with mounting dread as they drove further and further away from the entrance towards the outer fence that gated off contestant parking. “You don't think they'd let a first timer like me have a spot so close to the door do you?”

Chelsea had to concede that it made sense. Besides which, there did seem to be a lot of larger trucks and vans. It made sense for those with more supplies to unload get a closer spot to the door. Still though, why couldn't Lori have dropped her off and then found a place to park? Chelsea felt like an ice cream cone about to be carried across a desert. Lori would make it to the entrance carrying Chelsea with her in a plastic cup.

Lori eventually found their spot. A narrow opening down an alley behind part of the building. They were wedged snugly beside a dumpster and a large rectangular metal box that Chelsea suspected carried enough electrical charge to kill anyone that touched it.

“Well,” Chelsea said, summoning up a deep breath and gripping the handle of her door. “Let's do this.”

“Wait,” The word said so softly that Chelsea barely heard it.

“Hmm?” She asked, turning her head back to Lori. The ferret was still buckled up. “Something wrong?”

Lori looked up from her lap to Chelsea. “Sorry, it's just. I'm finally here ya know? After all this time and work I'm here and...” She trailed off. “And it's hard to think I even have a chance.”

“Don't talk like that!” Surprised bother herself and Lori with the force of her words. “You have just as much right to here here as anyone else.”

“But most of these people are professional chefs and bakers.”

“And you're not?”

“Well, I mean, They own bakeries and have employee's and years of experience.”

“And?” Chelsea asked, unable to believe her friend was losing her nerve. “You don't have experience?”

“Yeah, I do.” Lori wrung her paws together as she tried to articulate her doubts. “But, I mean, I haven't shown anyone my entry into the competition yet. How do I know it'll be any good. I never really tested it.”

Chelsea gripped either side of her stomach and shook it. That mound of blubber wobbled and bounced heavily on her lap, sending the rest of Chelsea's frame jiggling in concert. “Testing? You've been testing nonstop for the past month! You're baking is amazing Lori and I'm the testament to that.”

Lori couldn't help but laugh when she saw her friend brandishing her belly as qualifications for her entry into a national competition. “I guess that's true.”

“Damn right its true!” Chelsea said with a huff. “I didn't go through that many stomach aches and split pants just so you could lose your confidence now. Listen to me Lori,” Chelsea reached over and gripped her friends paw, squeezing it tightly. “You are gonna go in there and you are gonna win!”

Lori looked up into Chelsea's face and smiled. “Thanks Chelsea. I needed that.”

“You're welcome. Now what I need,” Chelsea said as turned towards the door once again. “Is to get inside that air conditioned building before I pass out on the pavement. Let's go!”

The sudden swap of personality traits that occurred in the van quickly reverted back to normal once Chelsea opened the passenger door. A wave of humidity hit her full in the face causing her to almost fall backwards against Lori.

“Oh god!” Chelsea moaned, already fanning her face. “It's like walking into an oven!”

“Oh come on Chelsea,” Lori said, squeezing out of her door and sliding down the narrow space between her side of the van and the adjoining wall. “It's nothing compared to a full day in the kitchen.”

“Yeah yeah,” Chelsea huffed, planting a sun hat firmly on her head and climbing out of the van. She slid past the strange humming electrical box and tried to ignore the dumpster before finally getting to the rear of the van that Lori was just opening. Inside was half a dozen cake boxes three of which Lori handed to Chelsea. “You take these and head on inside. Just tell whoever's at the door your with me and they'll show you where to go.”

Chelsea struggled to nod around the boxes that had been handed to her. True to form they were much heavier than they looked. Chelsea turned gently, carrying the three boxes in her arms and trying to see where she was going as she walked out of the alley and through the parking lot towards the side entrance.

The sun beat down mercilessly on the asphalt and a stifling humidity was already making Chelsea swelter. She hefted the boxes up in her arms again as best she could. With the extra weight she'd been putting on she was granted the feeling of those boxes resting on top of her belly as a make shift shelf. She was just glad she couldn't see anyone around her as she made her way along that black top. Each step felt like then after their long car ride and the humidity continued to drain her energy to the point where she through she might pass out.

With the effort being exerted from Chelsea one might have thought they had parked a mile or so away from the entrance. The fact of the matter was that they were only a hundred yards or so from the entrance. A few furs that passed by gave her an odd glance before heading inside. Finally Chelsea's foot tapped the edge of a curb indicating she'd reached the end of the parking lot. She shifted the boxes in her paws and looked around them to see the entrance just a few meters in front of her. Relief washed over her as she stepped up into the entrance and through the doors.

The entrance led into a carpeted foyer that reminded Chelsea of a hotel reception area. Only there was no reception desk. Instead the room was crowded with contestants and volunteers rushing about on various tasks. Several tables had been set up along the wall to Chelsea's right with a sign that said 'check in' above them.

A shiver of pleasure rippled through Chelsea when the cool air of the building washed over her. She stood for a moment in the entrance, her bulk filling it up, as she drank in that delightfully refreshing air.

“Can I help you?” a voice asked from the other side of the boxes. Chelsea waddled towards the voice, belly bumping into a table, and set the boxes down onto it so she could better see who was speaking. Seated behind the table was a blue and silver scaled dragon in shorts and a t-shirt. A PastryMania badge dangled around his neck.

“I'm here with Lori Mahoney.” Chelsea replied. The dragon looked up at the boxes and then down to the clipboard in front of him. He stared at it for a moment or two before looking back up at Chelsea.

“Ah, here she is.” He said, looking from the paper to a map spread out on the table in front of him. “She's at booth 111A.”

“Oh, any chance someone could show me where that is?” Chelsea asked.

“Through those doors,” The dragon pointed with his pen. “Then head to the back.”

“Thanks,” Chelsea grumbled, gathering up the boxes she'd been carrying and turned to leave. She was a few steps away before hearing the dragon call to her.

“Miss? You forgot your ID badge.”

Chelsea rolled her eyes and made her way back to the desk, passing by other entrants who gave her a look of annoyance for taking up so much time.

“Thank you,” She said, snatching up the badge and turning to leave once more.

“Oh and miss?” The dragon called again. Chelsea swore inwardly as she turned around yet again. “You need to sign in.”

“Anything else?” Chelsea asked once she'd signed in.

“No that's everything,” The dragon said with a wide smile.

“Thank you,” Chelsea said through clenched teeth. Once more gathering up those boxes that were starting to feel like they contained dumbbells.

“Oh miss?”

Chelsea froze on the spot as the voice called to her once again. “Whaaaaat is it?”

“Enjoy PastryMania.”

Chelsea looked back at the grin on the dragons snout. A series of things she would like to see that snout crushed under floated across her minds eye but, to her credit, she shoved them aside. “Thank you very much.” She said with as much cheerfulness as she could muster and finally made her way into the convention floor.

Despite the boxes obscuring most of Chelsea's view she was still overwhelmed at the sight in front of her. She'd been to small conventions and county fairs before but nothing on the scale of a PastryMania.

The convention floor was covered in tables, and booths. There were large stands selling pots and other essential baking equipment. She wandered past booths selling brands of flour and specialized spatulas for frosting cakes. There were throngs of furs watching stages where demonstrations by accomplished bakers were going on. She caught the sight of a plume of fire coming up from a frying pan as someone whipped up some sort of exotic dessert. Above all of this was the smell. In all her time of visiting Lori at work or going into the kitchen while Lori was in full swing she'd never smelled anything quite like PastryMania. The scent of hundreds, if not thousands of pastries, cakes, pies, and every other conceivable dessert flooded into Chelsea's nostrils which made her legs wobble under her. There was no distinct item or smell she could identify. It all converged into one overwhelming mixture of vanilla and cinnamon, chocolate and berry. Chelsea's stomach was soon growling from the onslaught of scents she'd spent the past month or so automatically stuffing into her snout. She thought about stopping at one or two displays, especially one that showed off a new kind of chocolate fountain, but thought better of it. She was here to help Lori not stuff herself on treats.

With a heavy heart she passed by those stages and kiosks of high caloric splendor and entered into the section of the convention floor devoted to contestants for PastryMania and found herself in a far worse situation. Where the previous temptations had been on stages or within booths. The tempting morsels that drew her attention were set out on tables in a grid pattern that spanned the rest of that large exhibition center. Chelsea threaded her way around tables piled high with doughnuts and pastries of every size and shape. The best bakers in the country had descended on this floor to show off their skill and talent and the temptation was almost too much for Chelsea to bear. Yet still she soldiered on, turning her snout this way and that, trying to keep every treat and dessert out of her vision in order to focus in on her task.

Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity of pastry based torture, Chelsea managed to find Lori's table. It was a simple folding table with nothing on it save for a small sign with Lori's name and her contestant number. A far cry from the elaborate displays that she had passed on her way in. Chelsea was able to look beyond all this however, and to the chairs that had been set behind the table. She gratefully set the boxes down and collapsed into one of the chairs, completely exhausted.

“Isn't this great?”

Chelsea gently lifted her sunhat from her face and looked up to see Lori standing in front of the table. She was pushing a large dolly carrying the last three boxes as well as a mini fridge and was practically bursting with excitement.

“Yeah, it's the best.” Chelsea replied. “Too bad we're so far back from everything.”

“What are you talking about?” Lori asked as she placed the boxes beside the others that Chelsea had brought in. “Back here no one will bother us. I can get everything ready without worrying about anyone coming up to gawk. We'll have the element of surprise”

Chelsea was about to comment about how the table they had was wobbly. The chairs were little better than plastic lawn chairs and they were jammed into one corner of the convention. Any judge would be forgiven for completely missing Lori and her entry. But Chelsea wasn't about to rain on Lori's parade. The ferret was in her element now. Surrounded by like minded bakers and chef's and brimming with her trademark energy that always sent her soaring towards triumph in anything she did.

“Right, good point.” Chelsea said, pulling herself up out of her chair with a grunt. “Let's get to work.”

Chelsea still wasn't sure exactly what Lori had planned for her dish. Even when they getting ready to set things up. She watched as Lori put most of the boxes into the fridge they'd brought along and the pair of them spent a bit of time hunting for an extension chord. Once the entry had been secured away Chelsea sat back down at the table to finish up some of the paperwork. Since Lori was setting up the table she was forced to set the papers on her belly. It was surprising how well her stomach served as a writing desk and Chelsea might have been worried about how large she'd gotten if she hadn't gotten caught up in the flow of Lori's energy.

While Chelsea filled out forms Lori pulled a clean white table cloth from one of the extra boxes she'd brought with her along with her chef's jacket which she pulled on over her tank top. She buttoned it up slowly, enjoying how well her body filled it out. She felt and looked like a true baker now. Someone who looked like they knew what they were talking about and able to back up that talk with action. As she set up the table, adding two vases of flowers on either side of the middle of the table that would serve as the central display, she looked over at Chelsea. The chipmunk had blimped up quite a bit since Lori had started this entire enterprise. The biggest part of Chelsea was definitely her belly. That hefty beach ball of blubber rested on a pair of chunky thighs that filled out the tight looking shorts she had squeezed on over an ample pair of rump cheeks. Her cheeks had grown rounder even by chipmunk standards and her glasses perched on them cutely.

Not a shred of Chelsea's old clothes fit her anymore. Most of her wardrobe had been given away or tossed out. There were a number of pants that bore rips down the backside after Chelsea had plopped herself down after a long day. Lori made a mental not to take Chelsea out to get some new clothes when this was all over whether or not she won.

“There we go,” Chelsea said, wiping her brow. “That's the last of the paperwork. Just gotta drop this off and we'll be good to go.”

“Wonderful,” Lori replied, “Why don't you go drop it off at the desk? I better stick around here and get the last few things set up. Plus you can get a few samples of whats on display.”

“Samples?” Chelsea asked, her ears perking up at the idea.

“Yeah, of course samples. What, did you think an event like PastryMania wouldn't have free samples?”

Chelsea stared up at Lori, completely dumbstruck. After all the work and time setting up and getting to PastryMania she'd completely forgotten about one of the main reasons she'd wanted to come. Other than helping Lori her goal had been to get a taste of some of the best baked goods in the country.

“Well then!” Chelsea exclaimed, leaping out of her chair which clung to her backside for a moment before clattering to the floor. “I'd better get a move on!”

“Don't be gone too long though,” Lori called after Chelsea as she rocketed towards sign in station near the entrance. “You don't want to come back here and find nothing but crumbs!”

That was enough to cause Chelsea to hurry and soon she was puffing and bouncing along between tables and displays to get to the reception desk. She passed in the last of the paperwork with record time and was just about to head back to Lori's table when she was stopped by the scent of something sweet. Her nose wiggled and she followed the scent, fluffy tail swishing and twitching behind her, until finally stopping at a table that held a large pile of cinnamon rolls. The rolls themselves were the biggest she'd ever seen. Each one easily six inches around and slathered with icing. A stack of them had been arranged in a pyramid shape that was accented with dollops of icing and small marzipan skiers to give the thing the look of a big sticky ski slope. Behind the display stood a chameleon wearing an apron which read 'Sissy's baked goods' across it. She was just putting the finishing touches on part of the display before noticing the hungry looking chipmunk standing in front of her work.

“Hi!” she said, putting down her icing bag. “Care for a sample?”

“Really?” Chelsea asked after stopping herself from tearing out one of the load bearing rolls from that pile. “But it looks so nice. I'd hate to ruin your work.”

“Oh not a sample from this silly,” She laughed, gesturing to a plate beside the the sugary mountain scene. Chelsea blushed when she noticed the very obvious looking 'take one' note that sat in front of it. The samples on the plate were made up of sliced up rolls piled up in a similar mound. A roll of paper towel had been provided to clean sticky paws.

“Let me know what you think,” the lizard said as Chelsea hoisted a cinnamon chunk up to her snout and stuffed it into her snout in one go.

It was hard to describe the experience of trying out another bakers cooking after eating nothing but Lori's for so long but thankfully she was still able to enjoy it. The mixture of cinnamon and icing was a delight that made Chelsea automatically reach for another even as she licked her fingers clean.

“Mph. Delicious,” Chelsea said around her second snoutful.

“I'm glad you think so.” The chameleon said. “I just hope the judges think the same thing.”

“Me too,” Chelsea said, wiping her snout clean with a piece of paper towel. “Maybe not use so much cinnamon next time though.”

“...what?” The lizard's voice was bled dry of any cheerfulness. Her eyes swiveled around, focusing intently on Chelsea. “Too much cinnamon?”

Chelsea rolled up the paper towel and tossed it into a trashcan beside the table. “Yeah, a little too much cinnamon. I didn't really mind it in the first bite but the second one was a bit overpowering. I couldn't really taste the icing or the nutmeg. It was just cinnamon through and through. Maybe the next batch could do with a little less. Oh, and maybe not so much butter? The insides of the rolls were a little soggy. They should be a little fluffier...” Chelsea trailed off then, realizing what she'd been saying. “I mean, that is, I, uhh,”

“Are you a judge or something?” The chameleon asked, looking from the plate in front of her to the badge around Chelsea's neck.

“No, no I'm just here to help out someone. Really, I don't know what I'm talking about. I don't cook much myself. Please don't be offended. I should really get going.”

Chelsea moved on then, leaving the lizard to look from her display back to Chelsea before shaking her head and getting back to work. Why had she said all that? She didn't know the first thing about baking. What was she doing trying to give a professional tips?

Her mind reeled with questions but also a breakdown of the flavors and textures of that cinnamon roll. She was so busy trying to figure out what made her speak up that she barely managed to stop before bumping into another table. The curve of her belly bounced against the table, making it jostle a bit and sending a massive Bavarian cream pudding jiggling in an elaborate mold.

“Do be more careful!” a corgi growled from the other side of the table. He was standing up on a step stool so as to better add the finishing touches to his display.

“I'm so sorry,” Chelsea said, covering her muzzle up and dreading the thought of having ruined someone's hard work.

“Well,” the corgi rested his paws on his hips as he stared over the display. “Nothing seems to be amiss,” The pudding was in the shape of a large dragon's head. The puddings color shifted and changed to reflect the shimmering scales around the dragons head and neck while the fire itself was a mixture of reds and yellows.

“That looks amazing!” Chelsea said. She'd always seen puddings as rather bland. Certainly nothing that someone would every think to try and win a contest with. They could be tasty, Lori had certainly tried her hand at making a go of them, but she had never managed to get them to set properly.

“Thank you very much,” the corgi replied, “If you'd like to try some I've got some samples. But please, do be more careful.”

“Of course,” Chelsea replied with as much courtesy and respect she could muster. The samples themselves were doled out in simple glass bowls but were each portioned out to be a full sized pudding. The kind suitable for any dessert. One bite was enough to let Chelsea know that this baker knew his way around puddings. The flavors mixed on her tongue in a such a perfect way that she felt a shiver run down her spine. It also might have had something to do with the refreshing coolness of the dessert after having suffered under a summer sun. It was just too bad that the pudding was a little runny.

“I beg your pardon?”

Chelsea opened her eyes to find the corgi staring daggers at her from above his display. Had she said that out loud?

“I..did I say something?” Chelsea asked, taking a step back from the table.

“You said my pudding was runny. Care to elaborate?”

“No no, I was just thinking of something I'd had earlier. I was just comparing yours to to that. Your pudding was perfect.”

“Hmmph.” The corgi seemed satisfied with that explanation. Yet he still looked from the pudding in Chelsea's paws to the one at the table and she saw a flicker of doubt cross his snout before she left, finishing off the pudding she was still holding.

What was she doing? It wasn't like her to criticize food, let alone when the chef was standing right in front of her. But she'd done it twice so far. She never had such a loose tongue before. She couldn't remember the last time she'd said something that harsh out loud. She was the kind of chipmunk that would have looked at someone on fire and complimented them on how fast they could run. Pointing out obvious flaws wasn't in her nature.

Or was it? The recent weeks and months suddenly flashed before her eyes. Not a day had gone by where she hadn't been asked to be brutally honest about Lori's cooking. She'd gone from glowing praise with slight issues with a perfectly cooked cake to damning one of Lori's experiments. The countless notes and critiques she'd given Lori during the run up to PastryMania had created an inner critic which for some reason she couldn't shut off. And each time she'd criticized something she still got to eat all of it. Could it be that she'd been conditioned to offer up notes to any sort of free sample or dessert that was shoved her way?

But that was crazy wasn't it? She wasn't Pavlov's dog. She was a thinking, intelligent fur. It would take more than a few treats to get her to run her mouth off about the quality of someone's baking. Right?

The worrying implications of her new situation was so consuming that she failed to notice the PA announcement which proclaimed the start of judging for the best dessert category of PastryMania. Chelsea had been eager to see what sort of dessert Lori had brought but this new problem needed further exploration. Chelsea looked up from the empty bowl in her paws and scanned the floor. All around her were tables laden down with every conceivable dessert and each one was paired with a baker or chef or amateur skilled enough to make it to this convention. She looked over each offering and each one looked absolutely delicious. She eventually found what she'd been looking for. There was a rather hefty looking female shark standing next to a cheesecake with a chocolate coating so dark that it looked like it could have its own event horizon. She made a bee line for the cake with such speed that the shark looked from her to the cake. Obviously afraid that Chelsea was going to jump onto the massive display.

“If you'd like a sample-” the shark started but Chelsea moved to the plate beside the cake and lifted a slice, stuffing it between her cheeks. The shark watched in awe as Chelsea crammed that extra rich, incredibly chocolatey dessert into her muzzle and began to chew. She rolled the cake around in her snout and it was just as amazing as she thought. A moan of pleasure escaped her lips as she licked crumbs from her fingers and gave her stomach a pat of pure pleasure.

The shark beamed with pride as Chelsea devoured that slice. “I take it it's a winner then?”

“Mmm so good,” Chelsea said, eyes closed. “But the crust on the bottom tasted a little burnt. I think the oven was a bit too hot.” She turned to see the shocked expression of the baker, grabbed another slice and quickly dashed away to another table. She didn't mean to say that out loud! She pushed in the second slice and now it was just as delicious as she thought it was. A pleasureful mixture of cheesecake and chocolate. It was one of the greatest things she'd ever eaten but that subtle burn on the bottom of the crust was still there, the only black mark on an otherwise perfect dessert.

She wove her way towards another table, this one holding an enormous trifle. She grabbed a bowl from the table without even acknowledging the owner and began to shovel the bowls contents into her muzzle. It was delicious, delightful, scrumptious... but the lady fingers had gotten a little soggy. She'd rushed away before she let the words roll off her tongue but they still made it out anyway. She was cursed! How could she eat anything if she was just going to rattle off the problems with it? How was that any way to enjoy a meal? How was she going to enjoy Lori's dessert? S

That thought created such a feeling of terror within her that Chelsea almost dropped the bowl of trifle she was eating. What would she do when Lori's food touched her lips? Would she lie? No, she could never do that. Lori had always wanted her to be brutally honest about her cooking. But what kind of friend would she be if she tasted Lori's entry and could only find faults with it? It would shatter her friends confidence. Chelsea would never be able to live with herself if she did something like that. But would would she do?

The answer suddenly came to her. It was so obvious. She would just have to cure herself of speaking her mind on all things bakery related. When she'd polished off the bowl of trifle Chelsea looked around her. There was an entire convention of treats all around her. She would just have to work her way through it all until she buried her opinions under custard and pastry.

With one last tug on her somewhat ill fitting top, Chelsea headed towards the closest table, her stomach growling hungrily at the mere thought of getting more delicious desserts.

The next item that caught Chelsea's eye was an intricately designed Caneles de Bordeaux. The fluffy custard cake called out to her with a siren song of powdered sugar and she steered heedlessly towards it. Without a second thought she pushed one of the samples into her muzzle. She'd never even tasted the food before but could feel a critique of the custard welling up inside her. Before she could speak she pushed in another slice. Leaving the chef staring at her retreating form before looking away to another customer. Chelsea found herself sweating with the strain of holding back her comments and ended up whispering them into her paws. At least she hadn't said it to the one responsible for such a delicious treat.

Chelsea tore her thoughts away from custard and cream and focused on what looked like a table of artisinal doughnuts. She had no idea what that entailed but made her way towards it. Her stomach was still growling loudly. Her breakfast seemed like ages ago and those first few treats, large as they were, were no match for the hunger that she'd built up over weeks of constant snacking. The doughnuts were coated in a glaze that gave them a mirror sheen. She saw her distorted features in the icing but ignore the messy, stretched out muzzle that looked back at her, and popped the first into her snout. Another groan passed through as she ate, savoring each delicious bite of those filling morsels. Even as she ate she found herself searching for imperfections. Trying to find the slightest fault in order to improve the recipe.

The first doughnut was perfection itself, she couldn't find a single fault. But that wasn't good enough for the critic inside her. Chelsea snatched up another, barely noticing the baker responsible and ate another, noting the slight lack of flavor in the second one. It tasted like more work had been done to make them look pretty rather than perfecting the flavor. With a grunt Chelsea pulled herself away from the table, mumbling thanks and criticisms from stuffed cheeks as she shuffled to another table.

The endless buffet of free samples and free comments continued on as she moved around the convention hall. Everywhere she went there were treats marred by a single imperfection. There were pies with dry crusts, apple tarts that were too tart. There were cakes cooked a shade too long and tarts not cooked long enough. She tasted too much salt, not enough salt, flavor mixes that didn't quite gel (some of which she'd tasted in Lori's kitchen and told the ferret as much). After one batch of cookies she wondered how anyone had managed to make it to PastryMania with a selection like this and the thought terrified her. Was it getting worse? She had to keep going!

As Chelsea ate her belly began to swell. That already well stuffed mound stomach flab was pushing over the strained waist of the shorts she'd managed to squeeze into. Her shirt, now dusted with crumbs, was starting to ride up over her belly and the sight of a chipmunk stuffing herself with the endless free samples was a sight everyone was getting used to seeing. Numerous bakers watched her wander past, snatching up samples and turning her snout away for some unknown reason. A few caught snatches of sentences like 'too much butter' and 'not mixed properly' but none could be sure to what she was referring.

The feasting went on for so long that Chelsea had lost track of time. She stopped in front of a drink stand, downing a chocolate milkshake to try and trying to get her strength back when another announcement came over the PA system.

“Ladies and gentleman,” The announcer said. “Judging has finished and the results will be announced in ten minutes. Would all contestants please return to their stations?”

Chelsea looked up from the empty mug in her paw and stifled a burp. How long had she been away? Slowly, she made her way back to Lori's corner, paws under her swollen belly, keeping that dessert stuffed mound of blubber from slapping against her thighs. It was slow, heavy work but she managed to finally make it back to Lori. By then she was panting and wheezing. Those shakes hadn't been enough to cool her down and she was ready to collapse by the time she'd made it through the groups of bakers and volunteers that were wandering away from Lori's table. It took her a moment but Chelsea managed to realize why they might have been there.

“Lori's entry!” Chelsea screamed in her head. There were dozens of furs wandering form that direction. Each one licking fingers or chatting to someone about the flavor and texture of something. Chelsea thrust through the crowd using her bulk as a battering ram. She finally made it back, wiping her brow and finding Lori sitting in one of the chairs, fanning herself. The table looked like a bomb had gone off. Bits of cream and pastry covered the table and the spot where the display had been was nowhere to be found.

“Oh hey Chelsea,” Lori said with a wave. “I'm beat!”

“Where is it?!” Chelsea replied far louder than she intended. So much so that Lori's eyes widened and she sat bolt upright. “Oh no! Chelsea don't tell me you didn't get any! Where have you been?”

“I was out sampling,” Chelsea groaned before staggering over to the chair beside Lori and plopping down beside her.

“I can see that,” Lori said, poking Chelsea's swollen belly. “Well, it's too late now. My display got taken away for final judging.”

“Is that a good thing?” Chelsea asked. Her entire world felt like it was about to come crashing down. Lori's big reveal and she didn't get to see it.

“I think so,” Lori said, pointing to other tables around them. There were displays still let out and the bakers beside them looked disappointed. Chelsea couldn't help but notice that many of them were entries she'd sampled and found problems with. “Seems like the finalists only go on to get judged a second time.”

“Oh Lori, I'm so sorry I wasn't here to help,” Chelsea groaned, still trying to knead some of the discomfort of having eaten so much out of her swollen middle. “I just got caught up in the samples. It was all so good,”

“Don't worry about it,” Lori said with a smile. “You've already done plenty. I don't know if I could have gotten the recipe right without you.”

Chelsea blushed at that, about to mention something about her issue with the samples she'd tried when the PA crackled to life once more.

“Ladies and gentleman. We are happy to announcer the winners of this years PastryMania. Would all contestants who's displays were chosen please make their way to the center stage.”

“That's us,” Lori said as she climbed to her feet.

“That's you, you mean,” Chelsea replied, still too stuffed to get up.

“Oh don't try and pull that now,” Lori smirked, gripping Chelsea's paw and helping her to her feet. “We're in this together.”

There was a large crowd gathering around the center stage by the time Lori and Chelsea got there. Chelsea noticed several other chefs, including the shark and corgi she'd spoken too, standing among the finalists. Before Chelsea could ask what was going to happen next the lights on the stage went up and a tall female German Shepard walked towards a podium set in the middle of the stage. Behind her was a table with something covered up with a cloth.

“That's the winning entry!” Lori hissed, squeezing Chelsea's paw in hers as they waited for the fur to speak.

“It's quite an honor to be here today,” The canine started, “to be presenting this years winning entry. We received a number of amazing submissions this year but there was one that was head and shoulders above the rest.” She lifted a small envelope from the podium and tore it open. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as everyone watched her wrestle with paper to finally tug the note free.

“And the winner is... Lori Mahoney!”

A sudden burst of confusion came up from the crowd as most of the veterans tried to figure out who that was.

“You won!” Chelsea squealed, turning to Lori and looking into the stunned face of her friend.

“What?” Lori said, apparently in a daze.

“You won Lori!” Chelsea gripped Lori by the shoulder and shook her gently.

“I won?” She said, looking around to see the crowd around her applauding as everyone figured out where the winner was hiding.

“Let's have a big hand for Lori! The first newcomer to take home the PastryMania crown!” the announcer said, “Lori come on up here!”

It took another few seconds for Lori to get her senses back enough to walk but she was soon rushing up the stairs beside the stage to head towards the podium. As she reached it a pair of stage hands pulled the covered table forward.

“It's been a long time since the judges have ever seen anything quite as elaborate as this entry.” The announcer said, shaking Lori's paw. “But it was truly an amazing, and delicious submission.”

Chelsea felt her heart almost break at the thought of missing out on such a wonderful treat. Her heart was dealt a further blow when Lori's display was revealed. A gasp came up from the crowd as a camera caught the reveal and the dessert in its entirety.

Lori had apparently taken the notes and comments Chelsea had given her to heart in her attempt to find the perfect recipe. She'd spent weeks struggling over what would blow the judges away. It was ironic that after all the testing and sampling she'd done over the weeks that the best recipe would have been one of the first one's she tried.

On the table was a familiar dessert to Chelsea. It looked like the dessert that Lori had given her as an apology. The dessert that she and Kate had destroyed. Only this one was far more elaborate. Gone were the singular profiteroles surrounding the central Mille-feuille. In its places was a massive weave of pastry. Lori had take that same profiterole pastry and shaped it into long, fully cooked, cream stuffed ropes which were looped and woven through each other. Ten thickly woven chords of pastry, accented with chocolate and caramel, sat around an enormous Mille-feuille which had been shaped into an enormous rose. The judges had been amazed that anyone could shape that dessert in such a way. Surely it would have collapsed under its own weight. Yet Lori had learned much from the testing she'd done. She found the structural integrity of every dessert she tried and figured out how to shape them without adding anything that might compromise the flavor. The result was an enormous rose set within a weave of profiterole thorns. A beautiful flower of delight set among those cream filled thorns.

The assembled crowd gasped at the skill involved. The sheer talent needed to pull off such a display with no team, no help, no backing of any kind, was something no one had ever thought possible.

An envelope and gold statue depicting an eclair were presented to the still somewhat stunned Lori. She shook the announcers paw and was gently guided to the podium to say a few words.

“I, uh, wow, I just...wow.” She said, looking down at the trophy and then back to the crowd. “I didn't think I'd make it this far. I mean, there were so many other amazing entries. I'm so amazed and thankful. But, there's someone else that I need to share this with. Someone who's been beside me this entire time. Helping me along and pushing me to do better and better. Chelsea, get up here.”

It was Chelsea's turn to look surprised now. She blinked as the assembled crowd turned as one towards her and began to clap, encouraging her up on the stage. Without a word she made her way to the stairs and climbed up. She wandered out on the stage, legs quivering, and stood beside Lori who gripped her paw in hers and raised her arms. The crowd cheered the pair. Lori waving her other paw while Chelsea struggled to tug her shirt down over that distended belly, her cheeks turning a bright red.

“We did it!”

The rest of the day was a blue for Chelsea. After the moment on the stage she stepped away from the crowd that surrounded Lori. There were other contestants congratulating her, judges paws that needed shaking, and a variety of photo ops that had to be done. Chelsea was fine with being on stage but she didn't want to be caught up in that massive commotion. It was still Lori's triumph after all. No matter how much Lori said the would share it.

Chelsea headed back to Lori's station which was surrounded by a few other contestants looking around, hoping to catch sight of or maybe a sample of the winning dessert. They asked Chelsea if she knew anything but had to leave disappointed as Chelsea said it was all gone. She couldn't help but feel just as disappointed.

The day eventually wound down to an end and Chelsea thought that would be the end of it. When Lori finally broke away from the crowd that mobbed her she was able to get back to Chelsea and start tearing down the table. Lori had planned to stay for the rest of the weekend, maybe do some photo ops and get on stage but decided against it. She was just as drained as Chelsea was and both agreed it was better to head home and rest.

“So,” Chelsea asked as they loaded up the last of the gear into the van along with a dozen boxes of pastries that Chelsea had managed to snag from a few tables that hadn't been completely raided yet. “How does it feel to win?”

“About the same really,” Lori admitted. “I mean, I'm glad I won but it doesn't really feel like a whole lot has changed. Sure, things will change later. I've gotten a few offers for work with a couple of bakeries but that's in the future. Right now, I feel like plain old Lori.”

“It's a shame though,” Chelsea said as she helped close the back doors of the van and shuffled back towards the passenger seat.

“What's a shame?” Lori called from the back of the van.

“I would have loved to try that entry of yours.”

“Yeah, too bad.” Lori said from behind the van.

Chelsea was struggling with her buckle, trying to tug it over her swollen belly, when Lori climbed into the driver's seat holding a white box.

“What's that?” Chelsea asked.

“Let's face it Chelsea,” Lori chuckled. “We both know you surrounded by pastries is bound to end with you losing track of time. So I planned ahead.”

Chelsea felt her heart flutter as Lori pulled open the box and lifted a slice of Lori's entry, complete with fork and napkin, out and set it down onto Chelsea's belly.

“I saved the last slice just for you.”

Chelsea looked down at the treat. The thing was a masterwork of baking skill. It looked rich and delicious. A wonderful end to the day. But would it be? Chelsea's inner critic was still grumbling. Even the treats she'd enjoyed hadn't survived a mutter and complaint about the quality of the ingredients used. What would she do if this wasn't perfect? What would Lori say?

“Well?” Lori looked on eagerly. Above everyone else, Chelsea was the one opinion that mattered most. “Dig in!”

Chelsea gulped as she cut a piece of the dessert off with her fork. She pushed the cake into the chords of profiterole and twirled it, getting as much onto the fork as she could before stuffing it into her snout.

Lori sat, watching with baited breath, paws clasped under her chin as Chelsea chewed slowly before finally swallowing down that snoutful in one large gulp.

“Well?” Lori asked.

Chelsea looked down to the treat and then back to her roommate and friend. Someone she'd spent so many lunches and dinners and snacks with. Someone she'd helped guide through the world of pastries and ample eating. Someone who'd looked to her for help to perfect her craft. Someone she could never, ever lie to.

“Perfect,” Chelsea said, licking her snout and grabbing another forkful of dessert.

“Absolutely perfect.”

“Erf, just a bit further.”

“Thank...goodness.”

The trip back to the city had been a triumphant one for both parties. Lori's phone rang nostop during the trip back, forcing Chelsea to answer for her and relay congratulations from friends, relatives, and co-workers over her win. Her boss had called as well, bursting with pride at Lori's achievement.

Of course, most of the congratulations were passed through a filter of stuffed cheeks and spewing crumbs. Chelsea, not wanting to miss a chance to sample the desserts and treats that she hadn't gotten to before the judging began, had dug into the boxes she'd brought back with her. The shirt she'd brought with her was in a poor state by the time they got back to their apartment and Lori was forced to help the overstuffed chipmunk out of the van and into the lobby.

“Jeez you're heavy,” Lori grunted, trying to shift Chelsea's weight into a more comfortable position. She currently had the chipmunk's arm slung over her shoulder and her paw around the curve of Chelsea's back. She was able to feel a fresh fold of flab growing out on Chelsea's back. The kind of extra roll that only appeared on one that really let themselves go.

“Not like you aren't either,” Chelsea replied, messy cheeks turning red. “You wanted to gain some extra padding too don't forget.”

“Yeah but I just wanted a little,” Lori chuckled as they entered into the elevator. “I got nothing on you or your appetite.”

The pair continued to tease and poke at one another, one flushed with victory, the other nearly drunk on pastry and sugar. They waddled their way down the hall, stumbling a bit when Chelsea lost a shoe. They were forced to abandon it like climbers shedding extra weight to reach the top of a mountain. When they made it to the front door Chelsea leaned forward so her stomach touched the door. That wall of white fur ringed with gray spread out over the door, obscuring the door knob and forcing Lori to move around the panting chipmunk in order to squeeze the keys between love handles and lock to get the door open.

Once inside Chelsea wasted no time in making her way down the hall, kicking off her other shoe and heading towards the living room couch. She collapsed onto it belly first, letting her tail flick over the side as she buried her snout into the cushions. “Mmmm hello old friend,” She yawned.

“Up for something to eat?” Lori called from the kitchen.

“Are you crazy? I'm stuffed!” Chelsea answered after managing to roll herself onto her side. Her massive belly reached over the edge of the couch and sagged ever so gently. The swollen chipmunk made that chesterfield look woefully inadequate.

“Some of us didn't feast all day you know,” Lori chuckled.

“Well do whatever you want, I'm gonna take a nap,”

“Okay, maybe I'll order a pizza then”

Lori held her phone in her paw and smiled. She counted to three in her head and looked back towards the living room.

“Well, if you're gonna order something anyway,” Chelsea called out. “Maybe just a little extra? I might be able to fit in a couple slices.”

“Sure thing,” Lori said as she placed her order. Once it was done she left the kitchen and headed to the bathroom. She'd spent the entire day in her chefs jacket and pants. Both of which had a thick layer of icing and flour smeared all over it. It really had been a long day.

As she peeled off her jacket she stood in front of the bathroom mirror and turned to the side. She stilled looked mostly the same. Her figure hadn't quite ballooned out like a certain chipmunks but there was a definite curve there. Her hips were wider, belly rounder, breasts heavier. Her entire frame was layered with an extra helping of fluff it seemed. She turned to the side, sticking her belly outwards. Her stomach wobbled softly in her paws when she poked it. A clear indication of a belly built out of softness and an abundance of good food. It was the kind of look a professional should have. Not to mention a winner of PastryMania.

Winner, that was something she still hadn't quite got her head around. To be able to claim the prize at such a massive competition on her first appearance didn't seem possible. Yet the trophy and certificate were all there for her and anyone else to see. What sort of opportunities would it open up for her? Maybe her own bakery? Or restaurant? Something that catered to big events would really allow her to let her creativity shine. Imagine what she could do if she had to cook for two hundred furs at once? The sheer volume of desserts both amazed and excited her. It was just the kind of challenge and joy she wanted.

Her musings on her future were cut off suddenly when she heard a knock at the door. After tossing on an old tank top that rode gently up over her belly she went to greet the delivery fur. When she opened the door she found herself staring at an otter holding two large pizza boxes on top of which sat a large brown paper bag. The otter wasn't looking at the door however, instead he was looking down at the shoe he was holding with a frown on his muzzle.

“That's mine,” Lori said.

“What? The shoe or pizza?” He asked.

“Both, actually,” She smiled, taking the boxes and pizza from the otter.

“Was that the pizza?” Chelsea called from her prone position on the couch.

“Don't pretend you can't smell it,” Lori said with a chuckle, carrying the food and footwear into the kitchen. A series of grunts and muttered complaints came from the living room while Lori set the table for dinner. Chelsea shuffled in after a few minutes, paws resting on the sides of her stomach, rubbing it gently.

“Think you got enough?” She asked when she caught a glimpse of the order Lori had placed.

“I suppose we'll find out won't we?” Lori chuckled, already pushing a slice of pizza into her snout.

“I only want a slice or two,” Chelsea said as she sat down, her thoughts about an overstuffed belly disappearing at the sight of something other than dessert. She stopped for a moment however, staring at the shoe that was sitting on the side of the table before shrugging and sitting down to eat.

After dinner the pair would probably think about cleaning up the mess they made. But that could wait for another evening. For now they simply relaxed and ate. PastryMania was over but there was still a dinner to be had.

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